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THE 
CHEERY WAY 




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The Cheery Way 

A Bit of Verse 
For Every Day 

By JOHN KENDRICK BANGS 

Author af "A House-Boat on the Styx" 
"The Pursuit of the House-Boat" etc. 

Decorations by 
J. R. FLANAGAN 



Harper Eff Brothers Publishers 
New York and London 



Books by 
JOHN KENDRICK BANGS 

THE CHEERY WAY 

THE BICYCLERS 

THE CHAFING-DISH PARTY 

COFFEE AND REPARTEE 

A DRAMATIC EVENING 

DREAMERS 

THE ENCHANTED TYPEWRITER 

THE FATAL MESSAGE 

THE HOUSE-BOAT ON THE STYX 

THE GENIAL IDIOT 

JACK AND THE CHECK-BOOK 

MR. BONAPARTE OF CORSICA 

OVER THE PLUM PUDDING 

A PROPOSAL UNDER DIFFICULTIES 

THE PURSUIT OF THE HOUSE-BOAT 

THE REAL THING 

THREE WEEKS IN POLITICS 

THE WORSTED MAN 

YOUNG FOLKS' MINSTRELS 



HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK 
[Established 1817] 



©CU571893 



The Cheery Way 



Copyright, 1920. by Harper & Brothers 
Printed in the United States of America 







CONTENTS 



The New-born Year .... January First 

Watch Out! January Second 

Thro' the Depths January Third 

Luck and Pluck January Fourth 

Persistence January Fifth 

Vain January Sixth 

Love's Blindness January Seventh 

Immune January Eighth 

The Stars January Ninth 

The Source January Tenth 

The Ever-young January Eleventh 

The Furnishings January Twelfth 

Compensation January Thirteenth 

The Guest January Fourteenth 

Possession First January Fifteenth 

Winter Roses January Sixteenth 

A Matter of Taste . . . January Seventeenth 

Radiation January Eighteenth 

Rich and Poor January Nineteenth 

The Password January Twentieth 

The Gossiper January Twenty-first 

My Prayer January Twenty-second 

Exposed January Twenty-third 

Shipmates January Twenty-forth 

The Blues January Twenty-fifth 

Good and Evil .... January Twenty-sixth 
The Borrowers .... January Twenty-seventh 
The Rich Man .... January Twenty-eighth 

Cheer Up! January Twenty-ninth 

Light and Shadow .... January Thirtieth 
The Treasure-chest . . . January Thirty-first 

The Design February First 

Possessions February Second 

A Hint February Third 

The Plan February Fourth 

The Sure Sun February Fifth 

Wanted February Sixth 

Exchanges ....... February Seventh 

To February *. February Eighth 

The Heart of Youth .... February Ninth 



CONTENTS 

My Work February Tenth 

Profit-sharing February Eleventh 

Lincoln ....... February Twelfth 

The Lonely Heights . . . February Thirteenth 

A Protest February Fourteenth 

Transformation February Fifteenth 

Appreciation February Sixteenth 

Mr. Joy February Seventeenth 

An Absurdity February Eighteenth 

The Unfathomable .... February Nineteenth 
The Ladder and the Light . February Twentieth 
Garnered Sweets . . . February Twenty-first 

Washington February Twenty-second 

An Explanation .... February Twenty-third 
A New Beginning . . . February Twenty-fourth 
A Goodly Gift .... February Twenty-fifth 
The Self-made Man . . February Twenty-sixth 
Don't Worry .... February Twenty-seventh 

The Edifice February Twenty-eighth 

The Day February Twenty-ninth 

March March First 

Defiance March Second 

The Dwelling-place March Third 

Mine Enemy March Fourth 

Partners March Fifth 

Weedless March Sixth 

In Proportion March Seventh 

A Cheerful Institution .... March Eighth 

A Long Quest March Ninth 

A March Day March Tenth 

My Face March Eleventh 

Modeling March Twelfth 

A Good Investment .... March Thirteenth 

Profit March Fourteenth 

Unreal Troubles March Fifteenth 

Fill It March Sixteenth 

Flowers March Seventeenth 

Contented March Eighteenth 

Redemption March Nineteenth 

Comfort March Twentieth 

Mellowing March Twenty-first 

No Tribute March Twenty-second 

All in One March Twenty-third 

Concealed Treasure . . March Twenty-fourth 

A Call March Twenty-fifth 

Safety March Twenty-sixth 

Evidences March Twenty-seventh 



CONTENTS 

The Wise Fool March Twenty-eighth 

Values March Twenty-ninth 

Two Rails March Thirtieth 

The Sequence March Thirty-first 

April April First 

Hold Fast April Second 

A Preference April Third 

The Flower April Fourth 

Key-notes April Fifth 

Changed Ambition April Sixth 

In Hours of Grief April Seventh 

The Gifts of Spring April Eighth 

The Past April Ninth 

Origins April Tenth 

A Welcome Visitor April Eleventh 

Always at Home April Twelfth 

The Gift April Thirteenth 

The Ship April Fourteenth 

A Pleasant Threat April Fifteenth 

Alongside April Sixteenth 

A Realization April Seventeenth 

Strength April Eighteenth 

The Verdict April Nineteenth 

Pictures April Twentieth 

Bad Company April Twenty-first 

Hope April Twenty-second 

Strengthening April Twenty-third 

Aspiration April Twenty-fourth 

The Harvest April Twenty-fifth 

Tolerance April Twenty-sixth 

Munitions April Twenty-seventh 

Sources April Twenty-eighth 

A Wish April Twenty-ninth 

Immortal! April Thirtieth 

A May-day Whim May First 

The Seed . May Second 

The Treasury May Third 

The Singing Breeze May Fourth 

A Toast to Earth May Fifth 

The Point of View May Sixth 

The Little Bird . May Seventh 

To Happyland May Eighth 

The End and the Beginning . . . May Ninth 

Pages of Life May Tenth 

The Singing Way May Eleventh 

The Laughing Song May Twelfth 

Hopes Restored * May Thirteenth 



CONTENTS 

Promises May Fourteenth 

Immune May Fifteenth 

The Daily Book May Sixteenth 

Wireless May Seventeenth 

The Mirth-cure May Eighteenth 

A Resolve May Nineteenth 

Understudies May Twentieth 

To the Rose May Twenty-first 

In Plain Sight May Twenty-second 

The Thief May Twenty-third 

The Homeward Wat . . . May Twenty-fourth 

The Link May Twenty-fifth 

Your Share May Twenty-sixth 

Visions May Twenty- seventh 

A Resolve May Twenty-eighth 

Stumbling May Twenty-ninth 

Memorial Day May Thirtieth 

The Victor May Thirty-first 

The Messenger June First 

A Fair Idea June Second 

Judgment June Third 

The Proof June Fourth 

Elation June Fifth 

Blessings Twain June Sixth 

A Good End June Seventh 

Fishin' June Eighth 

My Faith June Ninth 

The Hate That Steals .... June Tenth 

Friendly Offerings June Eleventh 

A Frequent Cure June Twelfth 

The Poet June Thirteenth 

Spread It June Fourteenth 

Fortune June Fifteenth 

The Daily Word June Sixteenth 

The Tree June Seventeenth 

Oak or Lily June Eighteenth 

Sigh Not June Nineteenth 

A Goodly Choice June Twentieth 

The Day June Twenty-first 

The Triple Hold .... June Twenty-second 

Sheer Waste June Twenty-third 

Achievement June Twenty-fourth 

The Climber June Twenty-fifth 

The Old and the New . . . June Twenty-sixth 
The Burden-bearer . . . June Twenty-seventh 

Ever Young June Twenty-eighth 

Safety-deposit Vaults . . . June Twenty-ninth 



CONTENTS 

As to Unkind Words .... June Thirtieth 

July Showers . July First 

Build July Second 

July July Third 

Freedom July Fourth 

Will July Fifth 

The Excess July Sixth 

The Test July Seventh 

Insurance July Eighth 

A Pleasant Game July Ninth 

The Point of View July Tenth 

The Accounting July Eleventh 

Independence July Twelfth 

Satisfaction July Thirteenth 

Out of the Storm July Fourteenth 

The Immortal Thing .... July Fifteenth 

A Resolution July Sixteenth 

Age-proof July Seventeenth 

In and Out July Eighteenth 

Life July Nineteenth 

The Thought-garden .... July Twentieth 

The Call July Twenty-first 

The Open Road July Twenty-second 

The World July Twenty-third 

Externals July Twenty-fourth 

The Builder July Twenty-fifth 

Self-approval July Twenty-sixth 

The Question July Twenty-seventh 

Look Up! July Twenty-eighth 

As to Questions July Twenty-ninth 

Imperishable July Thirtieth 

Willing Targets .... July Thirty-first 

August August First 

A Library of Days August Second 

Rations August Third 

As to Nightmares August Fourth 

Brothers All August Fifth 

A Short Cut August Sixth 

Worth While August Seventh 

A Parallel August Eighth 

Odds and Ends ....... August Ninth 

Demand and Supply August Tenth 

The Fault August Eleventh 

Eternal Youth August Twelfth 

Fortune August Thirteenth 

Locked In . August Fourteenth 

Mist ... ..... August Fifteenth 



CONTENTS 

A Foolish Plaint August Sixteenth 

Good-will August Seventeenth 

Yield Not August Eighteenth 

Vaulting Ambition .... August Nineteenth 

Sailing August Twentieth 

Idle August Twenty-first 

Joy o' Living August Twenty-second 

Reactions of Rhyme . . . August Twenty-third 

As to Clay August Twenty-fourth 

Deathless August Twenty-fifth 

A Division . . . . * . . August Twenty-sixth 
Weather-proof .... August Twenty-seventh 
Yesterday, To-day, and To-morrow 

August Twenty-eighth 

Molding August Twenty-ninth 

The Bee August Thirtieth 

Summer Passes August Thirty-first 

September First September First 

Swim Out * September Second 

The Doctor September Third 

Suspicious September Fourth 

Ghosts September Fifth 

The River September Sixth 

The Phcenix September Seventh 

A Suggestion September Eighth 

My Loves September Ninth 

As to Certain Doses .... September Tenth 
The Wise Spendthrift . . . September Eleventh 

The Ingredients September Twelfth 

The Winner September Thirteenth 

The Sailor September Fourteenth 

The Joy of Being .... September Fifteenth 
Free Gifts . .... September Sixteenth 

The Standard of Measurement September Seventeenth 

Motors September Eighteenth 

A Pleasant Notion . . . September Nineteenth 

Soul-sculpture September Twentieth 

Overlooked September Twenty-first 

Tolerance September Twenty-second 

Knots September Twenty-third 

As to Enemies . . . September Twenty-fourth 

Good Sailing September Twenty-fifth 

A Dream? September Twenty-sixth 

Fools and Sages . . . September Twenty-seventh 
What's Your Hurry? . . September Twenty-eighth 

Telling Time September Txoenty-ninth 

All the Same September Thirtieth 



CONTENTS 

October October First 

The Huntsman October Second 

Happiness October Third 

The Road October Fourth 

Good Company October Fifth 

Greetings October Sixth 

Fruition October Seventh 

A Robbery October Eighth 

Oak or Acorn October Ninth 

Tested . October Tenth 

My Star October Eleventh 

The Blind Man October Twelfth 

Alternations October Thirteenth 

The Best Available . . . October Fourteenth 

The Painter October Fifteenth 

The Real Genius October Sixteenth 

The Old Things .... October Seventeenth 

A Useful Whim October Eighteenth 

Waiting October Nineteenth 

Friend and Enemy .... October Twentieth 

Practice October Twenty-first 

A Receipt October Twenty-second 

Poison October Twenty-third 

An Epitaph October Twenty-fourth 

The Universal Language . . October Twenty-fifth 

My Song October Twenty-sixth 

A Reflection October Twenty-seventh 

The Gambler October Twenty-eighth 

The Gift of Time . . . October Twenty-ninth 

Good Training October Thirtieth 

An Improvement October Thirty-first 

Glad November November First 

The Small Potato .... November Second 

Transferred Roses November Third 

Lands of Promise .... November Fourth 

The Explorer . . . . . . November Fifth 

The Whimsical Philosopher . . November Sixth 

Co-operation November Seventh 

Morning, Noon, and Night . . November Eighth 

Unimpaired November Ninth 

To the Unknown Friend . . . November Tenth 
Thorns and Roses .... November Eleventh 
The School of Life . . . November Twelfth 

Up November Thirteenth 

The Better Plan . . . November Fourteenth 

Mother Earth November Fifteenth 

Imaginary Trouble .... November Sixteenth 



CONTENTS 



A Reversible Heart 
Head and Heart 
In Defeat . 
The Truer Joy . 
The Symbol 
Out of the Depths 
The Daily Harvest 
The Joy of Hoping 
Puzzles .... 
Thanksgiving . 
Action .... 
A Preference 



November Seventeenth 

November Eighteenth 

November Nineteenth 

November Twentieth 

. November Twenty-first 

November Twenty-second 

. November Twenty-third 

November Twenty-fourth 

. November Twenty-fifth 

November Twenty-sixth 

November Twenty-seventh 

November Twenty-eighth 



The Wisdom of the Moth November Twenty-ninth 
The Thing That Counts . . November Thirtieth 



The Icy Road 

Mirrors 

The Humorous Philo 

Allies .... 

Out of the Murk 

The Cup ... 

At Sunset . 

The Willing Will 

A War Impression 

Earnings 

The Weather-maker 

A Query . . . 

A Resolve . . . 

The Overburdened 

The Dance 

The Thief . 

Cleabing the Way 

In the Woods 

Sanctuary . 

As to Heaven 

Space and Time . 

Star-led 

My Gift 

The Christmas Spirit 

Santa Claus . 

The Aftermath . 

Now and Here 

Pleasant Thinking 

If, But, and Why 

The Refuge . . 

A Parting Gift . 



. December First 

December Second 

. December Third 

December Fourth 

. December Fifth 

. December Sixth 

December Seventh 

. December Eighth 

. December Ninth 

. December Tenth 

December Eleventh 

December Twelfth 

December Thirteenth 

December Fourteenth 

. December Fifteenth 

. December Sixteenth 

December Seventeenth 

December Eighteenth 

December Nineteenth 

. December Twentieth 

December Twenty-first 

December Twenty-second 

December Twenty-third 

December Twenty-fourth 

December Twenty-fifth 

December Twenty-sixth 

December Twenty-seventh 

December Twenty-eighth 

December Twenty-ninth 

. December Thirtieth 

December Thirty-first 



THE NEW-BORN YEAR 






/^OMES now a smiling New-Born Year 
To fill to-day with goodly cheer — 

An infant hale and lusty. 
Upon our door-sill he is left 
By Daddy Time, of clothes bereft 

Despite the season gusty. 
If he be Churl or doughty Knight, 
A Son of Darkness or of Light 

No man can tell, God bless him! 
But be he base or glorious 
Time puts it wholly up to us 
To dress him! 



January First 






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WATCH OUT! 

| OOK on the lovely things of life 

And gain 
Relief from ugliness, and strife, 

And pain, 
Forgetting not that things of stress 

Are there, 
And need your constant watchfulness 

And care. 





UP 

ffl' 





THRO' THE DEPTHS 



/^\VERHEAD the winds are sweeping, 
^^^ Underneath the fields are sleeping. 
Overhead the ice is gleaming, 
Underneath the rills are dreaming. 
Overhead the clouds are piling, 
But beyond the skies are smiling. 
Overhead the snow is falling, 
Yet I hear soft voices calling 
To my soul, thro* winter groping, 
Bidding me to keep on hoping, 
For that thro' such chill as this is, 
Thro* the arctical abysses, 
Nature leads her sons and daughters 
On to springtime's sunny waters. 



January Third 












I 




LUCK AND PLUCK 



'HTWIXT Luck and Pluck 

Lies but a letter — 
Right good is Luck, 

But Pluck is better. 
For Luck you sit 

And wait his wooing, 
But Pluck means Grit, 

And Something Doing. 







PERSISTENCE 



A STURDY soul was that one who, 

By Fortune sadly tricked, 
Deep in the mesh of woe and rue 
Went smiling on and never knew 

Or guessed that he'd been licked: 
And, knowing not his evil fate, 
Just grinned when Fortune slammed the 

gate, 
And fearless of all slip or fall 
Won out by climbing o'er the wall! 




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January Fifth 




VAIN 

\17HEN coming face to face 

With sordid things and base, 
With trouble and with care, 

'Twere vain to say 

In careless way 
That they're not really there. 
Yet it were vainer still 
To judge the whole world ill 
Because of sordid woes — 

The mire of earth 

Destroys nor worth 
Nor glory of the Rose! 



January Sixth 



LOVE'S BLINDNESS 

[ OVE'S not so blind as he's supposed to be. 

There's precious little that he cannot see, 

And all his vaunted and much-talked-of 

blindness 
Is nothing more than his eternal Kindness. 

He sees our faults, nor fails to recognize 

them 
The very minute that his optic spies them; 
But being Love, he neither notes nor books 

them — 
He takes them as they are, and overlooks them. 



January Seventh 



IMMUNE 

^HE weather? What's weather to me? 

'Tis little I care for the rain, 
The turbulent wrath of the sea, 
Or tempests that beat on the pane. 

Right little care I for the storm 
With all of its roaring and din — 

My heart and my spirit are warm 
With sunshine I carry within. 



January Eighth 



THE STARS 



TITHENCE come the stars, and where 

they go 
I must confess I do not know, 
And what is more I do not care — 
'Tis quite enough to know they're there 
Like friendly spirits in the sky 
That smile and wink a merry eye 
On you and me, and with their gleam 
Make all the world more genial seem. 



January Ninth 



THE SOURCE 

TF there is not some Fount of Love 

Somewhere in this great Universe, 
Whence comes the joyous treasure-trove, 

As from some boundless open purse, 
That fills the heart of man with peace, 

And mitigates the sting of woe, 
And sends him smiling o'er life's seas 

Whatever adverse winds may blow? 



January Tenth 







THE EVEK-YOUNG 

CINCE 1 have learned the fact so true 
That with each day I'm born anew, 
And with each dawn a day of cheer 
Begins another, fresher, year, 
I've felt as young as any boy 
Who greets the sunny hours with joy, 
And plod my path with youthful zest, 
And wait the end with interest. 




January Eleventh 



THE FURNISHINGS 

"W^E dwell within ourselves, and that is 
* * why 

'Tis well that inner Self to beautify; 
To furnish it with kindly thoughts, and 

strive 
To keep the soul of Fellowship alive; 
To sweep out ugliness, and place 
Where'er we can such articles of grace 
That when we sit within our eyes will find 
On every side things of a cheery kind. 



January Twelfth 









COMPENSATION 

JUST as I know 
** When gripped by ice and snow 
Off to the south 'mid sunny hours 
Bloom lovely flowers, 
So in the cares that do beset 
There comes to ease days of regret 
The knowledge sure that in my pain 
Somehow, somewhere, I'll find some gain 
To compensate me and relieve 
The sting and smart of things that grieve. 



January Thirteenth 






THE GUEST 

HPHE happiest chap I ever met, 
The freest of all dark regret, 
Was one who deemed his days to be 
A gift of hospitality 
With God his Host; and as His guest 
Viewed everything with interest. 
And like a grateful visitor 
Who wished to even up the score, 
Did all he could both day and night 
To give his fellow-guests delight. 







January Fourteenth 



POSSESSION FIRST 

'IIT'HAT you have not 
You can't bestow, 
No matter what 

Of joy or woe. 
So if you'd be 

A fount of light, 
Your mind hold free 

Of thoughts of night. 
And if of cheer 

You'd be the source, 
You'd better steer 

The sunny course. 



January Fifteenth 



WINTER ROSES 

HPHE Rose-trees of the Garden sleep, 
And snowy drifts their vigils keep, 
But other Roses rare there be 
That never bloomed on any tree — 
The Rose of Hope, the Roses good 
Of Hearts that bloom in Brotherhood, 
And blossoms pure that scent the air 
With Sympathy and loving Care, 
And as their petals soft unroll 
Disclose the beauty of the soul. 



January Sixteenth 






A MATTER OF TASTE 

TF anything on all this earth 

Is useless past compare 
It is to waste one hour of worth 

On some stale bit of care. 
If Fate's to catch me in some mesh 
I hope at least it will be fresh. 



January Seventeenth 



RADIATION 

HHO fill the world with happiness, 
And ease it of the stir of stress, 

Begin 

Within— 
Make it your sure resolve and plan 
To be as happy as You can, 
And when your heart is brimming o'er, 
So full it cannot handle more, 
By radiation let it rise 
In word, and deed, and kindly eyes, 
Till others round about you share 
The fruitage of your jocund air. 



January Eighteenth 



RICH AND POOR 

TITHAT'S being rich but chance to share? 
^ * What's being poor but naught to 

spare? 
Millions may lie in chests secure 
Yet leave the holder deadly poor 
Since he hath not the will to give 
That others may more fitly live, 
And empty pockets richer be 
Allied with love and sympathy. 



January Nineteenth 



THE PASSWORD 

V\7HAT is the password of the day? 
* * Cheer, be it sunny, dark, or gray. 
If cloud or sunshine, cold or hot; 
If bleak or smiling — matters not, 
For all is fair along the way 
When Cheer's the password of the day. 



January Twentieth 












THE GOSSIPER 

/^OSSIP would quite harmless be 
^* If the stories that we tell 
Were of virtues that we see 

In the folks that round us dwell; 
If the news we spread were of 

All the good things that we hear, 
Things of kindness and of love, 

Things of helpfulness and cheer. 

If a gossip I must be 

That's the kind, I'm sure, for me. 






January Twenty-first 




MY PRAYER 

T ASK not change of wind and tide 
To suit the course I'm sailing, 
But that the tempest I may ride 

With confidence unfailing; 
That spite of storm and hurricane, 

And all the sea's demurrage, 
Whate'er betide me on the main 

I'll meet with proper courage. 






January Twenty-second 




EXPOSED 

HPHE Wolf was standing at my door, 

Indulging in a fearsome roar, 
But when he knocked it pleased my whim 
To go outside and grapple him; 
And as we fought he gave a cough 
And shivered, and his skin came off, 
And who do you think he chanced to be? 
No one but Opportunity, 
Right there before my very eyes 
Hid underneath that wolfish guise! 



January Twenty-third 



SHIPMATES 

A S Life tells me to set my sail, 

So shall my canvas e'er be spread, 
That through the hurricane and gale 
My sturdy craft shall forge ahead. 

If I have Hope to hold the helm, 
And Faith and Love to lay my course, 

No storm that comes can overwhelm, 
No seas o'erpower me with their force. 

And sailing onward, ever on, 

Whatever tempests fierce may rage, 

I know with these for Mates anon 
I'll come to Port and anchorage. 



January Twenty-fourth 



THE BLUES 

VT'OU seek to know if I am ever blue, 

And I the truth will whisper unto you — 
/ always am! I'm blue as summer skies 
That smile on me. I'm blue as those blue 

eyes 
That flash to other eyes the glint of joy 
That ever springs from love without alloy. 
I'm blue as any happy Bluebird there 
High in the radiance of the morning air 

Who sings 
The while he soars the sky on outstretched 
wings; 

And mark ye, too, 
I'm blue 
As ever was a violet held close 
Unto the heart of some fair human rose 

January Twenty-fifth 



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Sent by a lover to his Heart's Desire; 
And blue am I as the deep sapphire 
Of sparkling seas that glitter in the light 
Of some rare day emerged from stormy 
night. 



January Twenty-fifth 




GOOD AND EVIL 

T LOOKED about for Ugliness, 

And found it, sure enough — 
I truly did not have to press 

To find the sorry stuff; 
But I discovered everywhere 

I cast my eager eyes, 
Despite the uglinesses, there 

Were lovely things likewise. 

If there were weeds, some flower nigh 

Was always to be seen, 
And where some cloud obscured the sky 

The earth was lushly green; 
And tears had laughter playing round, 

And once amid the blur 
And murk of crime-rid hearts I found 

The gold of Character. 

January Twenty-sixth 





THE BORROWERS 

A LOT of good fellows I meet on my way 
"^ Rely on To-morrow to help out To-day. 
They squander the present and dream that 

somehow 
To-morrow will settle the debts of the Now. 

An easy old method to pay off a debt, 
But he is a person less prey to regret 
Who out of the future refuses to borrow 
And makes his To-day meet the needs of 
To-morrow. 



January Twenty -seventh 




THE HICH MAN 

T HAVE few pence, but stores of health. 
I hold no bonds, but hosts of friends, 
And that I deem the sort of wealth 

That never ends. 
I've love aplenty, and good will 
Enough the whole wide world to fill, 
So why should I be full of care 
Because I'm not a billionaire? 



January Twenty-eighth 






CHEER UP! 

OMALL is your place, unknown your 
name; 

You plod along your toilsome way 
With ne'er a hope of winning fame — 

And yet, who knows what coming day 
May crown your plodding and redeem 
The glories lost of which you dream? 
Rich prizes wait on high desires, 
And smallest sparks start greatest fires. 




i; 



January Twenty-ninth 



LIGHT AND SHADOW 

A CROSS the scene a shadow lay, 
"^ A cloud obscured the loving sky, 
And all seemed cold, and dull, and gray 
To the despairing eye. 

But in my heart was song and cheer, 
And e'en though dark my day was fair — 

That very shadow eased my fear — 
'Twas proof the sun was there! 







January Thirtieth 






THE TREASURE-CHEST 

Al/'HAT are the numbered years to me? 

Each one a golden treasury 
Of riches stored in Memory. 

A Treasure-chest of Hopes and Fears, 
Of Merry Laughter and of Tears, 
All mellowed by the passing years. 

A veritable treasure-trove 

Of Cheer, and fabrics fairly wove 

Of strands of Friendship and of Love. 



January Thirty-first 



THE DESIGN 

pEBRUARY, to my mind 

By old Chronos was designed 
As a sort of time in which 
Mortals very far from rich 
Might observe the truth that though 
All is murk and slush below, 
All is bleak and cold and mean, 
Still the Heavens are serene, 
And the sun shines just as clear 
As when summer's days are here, 
Giving light and promise of 
Life's abundant stores of Love. 



February First 






POSSESSIONS 

nnHOU hast no Art? 

The glowing pictures of the land and sea 
In all their beauty rich belong to thee. 

Thou hast no song? 
The madrigals of singing birds divine 
If thou hast ears to hear are wholly thine. 

Thou hast no lands? 
Thou hast thy space, and truly in the end 
Midas himself shall have no more, my 
friend. 

Thou hast no wealth? 
The sun by day, and all the stars that shine, 
The living light, and love of God are thine! 

February Second 



A HINT 

A CHAP I knew once waited for 
"^ A ship that never reached the shore, 
And Fame and Fortune failed to win 
Because his ship did not come in. 
But there was also one I knew 
Who had a ship he waited, too, 
And when she failed to come, why he 
Jumped overboard and swam the sea. 

He swam and swam and swam away, 
He swam by night, he swam by day, 
Until he reached the Port wherein 
Lay all the things he sought to win; 
And, 'stead of one, had several ships 
Engaged in making many trips 
To land upon his native shore 
What others lost by waiting for. 

February Third 



THE PLAN 

/CHANGEABLE the days may be, 
But what's that to you and me, 
Thirsting for variety? 

Little touch of spring to-day 
Hinting of the coming May — 
Then a snap of winter gray. 

Now it's hot, and now it's cold, 
Sullen skies, and skies of gold, 
Timid zephyrs, breezes bold. 

Hold your plaint, O Mr. Man! 
Can't you see 'tis Nature's plan 
Just to please us if she can? 

February Fourth 



* 







THE SURE SUN 



"I^THEN days are dark I do not chide the 



sun 



With cavilings and carpings without end; 
But blame the clouds as I should blame the 



one 



Who tries to come between me and my 
friend. 



I know the sun is there, and shines as true 
As if no mists had risen to obscure, 

And soon or late will burst upon my view, 
Sure as the love of my true friend is sure. 



February Fifth 




'^jQ 




WANTED 

'npWOULD please me much if I could see 

An accurate Geography 
That showed the City of Content, 
And how to reach the Continent 
Of Happy Days through Ports of Cheer, 
The Hills of Joy uprising near 
Whence streams of Human Love run down 
To meet the sea at Friendlitown, 
Where all men live in peace together, 
Regardless of the style of weather. 




February Sixth 






EXCHANGES 

"Tj^OR to-day let's swap our cares — 
A I'll take yours and you take mine: 
I your pitfalls, you my snares — 
Let's all do it down the line. 

Pauper take the rich man's woe; 

Serf assume the Monarch's crown; 
Magnate on the highway go 

Meek and lowly, trodden down. 

Not much gained? Well, maybe not — 
But it somehow seems to me 

On all sides we'd find a lot 
Of good healthy sympathy! 



February Seventh 







TO FEBRUARY 

\7"OU may be full of mush and slush, 
* bleak old February, 
And Poets seldom o'er you gush, 

Your moods so often vary; 
Yet matters not how you behave — 

I love you, for I'm thinkin' 
We all should bless the month that gave 

Us Washington and Lincoln! 







February Eighth 







THE HEART OF YOUTH 

T LITTLE care how folks may laugh 
And cover me with sneering chaff, 
Because in these my latter days 
I fondly cling to childish ways, 
Since he who keeps childhood in view, 
And to its purity is true, 
And holds the high faith of a boy 
In things of laughter and of joy, 
Can ne'er grow old, and finds no fears 
Of age in his increase of years. 






February Ninth 






MY WORK 

TV/fY work is not mine enemy 

That I must fight and put to rout, 
But rather friend in whom I see 

A comrade true to help me out. 
I meet it, therefore, as I would 

A cherished brother, and I try 
To prove it excellently good, 

And greet it with a smiling eye — 
And since I've made my task my pard 
I've never really found it hard. 



February Tenth 



PROFIT-SHARING 

TF so it be 

Life has been good to thee, 
And has filled up 
With golden joy thy cup, 
Let others share 
That teeming content there, 
And thus thy store 
Will be increased the more — 
Thy joys divide 
And find them multiplied. 






February Eleventh 







LINCOLN 

T^HE good clean strength of one whose 
A soul 

Held all the gold of self-control 
Amid the clash of fiery stress, 
Yet all devoid of selfishness. 

A mind of high resolve, and clear, 
That held no flaw, or dross of fear, 
When purpose true impelled the deed 
To serve his fellow-man in need. 

A heart of loving cheer and grace 
That nothing held of mean or base, 
And open as the heavens free 
To all who suffered misery. 
February Twelfth 




Time hath no measure, yet I dare 
Upon this day we hold so fair 
To measure it by Lincoln's fame 
As being deathless as his name! 



February Twelfth 






THE LONELY HEIGHTS 

HPHEY say that at the top there's lots 

And lots and lots of room — 
Not villa sites, but palace plots, 
With laurels all abloom. 

But somehow as I peer above 

To where those spaces be, 
For all their wondrous treasure-trove 

They don't appeal to me. 

They seem so lonely and so drear, 
No crowds to come and go, 

And I prefer the bustling cheer 
Of Company — below. 



February Thirteenth 



A PROTEST 

"A NASTY day! A nasty day!" 

7^ 'Twas thus I heard a critic say 
Because the skies were bleak and gray — 
And yet it somehow seemed to me 
The day was all that it should be. 
I looked it very closely o'er; 
Its hours still were twenty-four, 
With sixty minutes each — no less — 
For deeds of good and helpfulness; 
And every second full of chance 
To give the day significance; 
And every hour full of growth 
For everybody but the sloth — 
I couldn't see it quite that way, 
For though the skies were bleak and gray 
The day itself, it seemed to me, 
Was all a day could rightly be. 

February Fourteenth 



I 



TRANSFORMATION 

LIKE the man who takes the stones 
Upon his rocky road 
With smiling lips instead of groans, 

Whate'er his heavy load 
Who seizes each as on he goes, 

And neatly crumbles it, 
And turns his share of pebbly woes 
To stores of inner grit. 



r k im 



February Fifteenth 









APPRECIATION 

TT may be true that beggars lie — 
But so perhaps would you and I 
If we were vexed with want as they 
Who wander on their hopeless way. 
At any rate, or false and true, 
I never look their stories through, 
But pay them for the tale they tell, 
And if forsooth they do it well 
Throw in an extra bit to show 
That, if it be romance or no, 
A moving tale I ever hold 
Worth its reward if fitly told. 



February Sixteenth 




MR. JOY 

VTOW Joy he is the strangest thing 

That ever I did see. 
He turns his back on Prince and King 
To dwell with you and me. 

To palaces he seldom goes, 
Where pomp and power strut, 

Yet often stops to warm his toes 
In some poor peasant's hut. 

For gilded halls he doesn't care, 
And rich foods leave him flat, 

But on the humblest sort of fare 
He blooms, and waxes fat. 



February Seventeenth 



AN ABSURDITY 

nnHE world's a school that teaches us 

Full many a lesson glorious. 
It teaches love, and how to bear 
The burden of oppressive care; 
How to forget, how to forgive — 
In short, it teaches how to live. 

Yet there be those who tell us that 
'Tis all for nothing, stale and flat; 
That, having learned to live, we press 
From Being into Nothingness, 
And out of all our stress have won 
The blessing of — Oblivion! 

As if the grandeur of our days, 
And all the wonder of our bays, 

February Eighteenth 







And all the splendid things that Man 
Has built up since the World began 
Were just a bit of idle chaff 
To make some dullard Devil laugh! 







February Eighteenth 










THE UNFATHOMABLE 

[ CAN'T explain the mysteries 
■*■ That bring fruition to the trees, 
But well I know their fruit is fair 
And seek the golden bounty there. 

I do not comprehend the hills 
That shield me from the Arctic ills, 
But when the blasts of winter press 
I seek their sheltering friendliness. 

So with my God. The mind of me 
Cannot unfold Infinity, 
Yet I can seize upon the good 
Of His immortal Fatherhood! 



February Nineteenth 









THE LADDER AND THE LIGHT 

T_JOPE, Smiling Cheer, and Love, and 

1 X Will- 
Four rungs upon my ladder are 

On which in face of every ill 
I wend my way up to my star. 

Each firmly fixed holds me secure 
As to the gleaming heights I rise, 

And makes my daily progress sure 
With Faith the light before my eyes. 






February Twentieth 




.j^i 



GARNERED SWEETS 

AS bees their honey store, 
■^ So shall I store to-day 
Until the hive runs o'er 

The sweets that come my way, 
That I and friends of mine 

In days of gloomy weather 
May sit us down and dine 

Upon their joys together. 



February Twenty-first 



WASHINGTON 

'lVflD all the glory great of war, 

And power vast as that of Kings 
He never lost his passion for 

The world of peace and simple things. 

Surrounded by vast selfishness, 
With high ambitions face to face, 

Unselfish ever did he press 

On to the freedom of his race. 

The wreath he sought was but the bay 
Of Service, and full Duty Done, 

The diadem that crowned the day 
Of loyal-hearted Washington. 



February Twenty-second 



AN EXPLANATION 

V/'OU need not think 

It's vanity that makes me prink, 
And take much care 
To keep myself both fit and fair. 
'Tis not false pride or vain conceit 
That keeps me trying to be neat, 
But just the plain and simple truth 
That I have held to since my youth 
That this old frame in which I dwell 
Is nothing more than the hotel 
In which my Soul and Hopes must stay 
Until I'm called to move away, 
And for their dwelling-place I plan 
To give them quite the best I can, 
And keep the place up spick and span. 

February Twenty-third 






A NEW BEGINNING 

TK7HAT if yesterday holds mistakes, 
"A record full of qualms and quakes? 
To-day hath come, a page pure white, 
Whereon your errors you may right. 
It lies before you clean and fair 
With srniling invitation there 
To start anew, and smooth away 
The sad mischance of Yesterday. 



February Twenty-fourth 



^gsraprt* 



A GOODLY GIFT 

"117'ERE I to pray for some rare gift 

To help me through life's varied shift, 
'Twould be the gift at once to say 
What things may cheer my brother's way, 
And hold myself completely dumb 
When sneers and biting phrases come 
To visit on my friend's distress, 
Just to display my cleverness. 



w. 









February Twenty-fifth 






THE SELF-MADE MAN 

ILJE said he was a Self-made Man, 
And yet I fear he stole the plan, 
For truly, far as I could see, 
He differed not from you and me, 

Who've come to be 

As Much as he 
The things we are, for weal or woe, 
For good or ill, or high or low, 
By keeping ever in our view 
The things the ages point us to, 
And getting help from every one 
In every blessed thing we've done, 
And not afraid a little bit 
To gratefully acknowledge it. 

February Twenty-sixth 



m 



DON'T WORRY 

y-xQN'T worry, Friend, because you are 
not great. 
The Road's more human in the vales 
below — 
More laughter, song, more hearts with joy 
elate, 
More freedom in life's ceaseless ebb and 
flow. 

Keep plodding on with smiling lip and eye, 

Nor vex your soul because you may not 

mount, 

And o'er your smallness neither weep nor 

sigh, 

For, after all, it's little things that count! 

February Twenty-seventh 




**J~ 






THE EDIFICE 







TN building up your Soul the plan prepare 
With watchful foresight and with proper 

care, 
That it may stand the storm and stress of 

life, 
And hold you safe from evil and its strife. 
Make Love the cornerstone, and that good 

cheer 
May hold you free from worry and from 

fear, 
Immune to all the terrors of the night, 
Keep every window open to the light. 



February Twenty -eighth 




THE DAY 

AN extra day from Time's full purse, 
^^ To use for better or for worse — 
A meed of minutes, gift of light, 
A pause, perhaps, in Time's swift flight 
Wherein we may redeem the cost 
Of wasted hours we have lost. 






February Twenty-ninth 




, 



MARCH 

T'VE watched old March for many a year, 

With all her ways so dark and drear, 
And know full well her wild barrage 
Of bluster is all camouflage. 

She blows her blasts and ramps along, 
And sings a mighty war-like song, 
But underneath her flaunting wing 
She hides away the joys of spring. 

And all her temper melts away 
Into the smiles of April's day 
As on her wayward course she goes 
To flowers fresher for the snows. 



March First 



DEFIANCE 

\A)U need not think, black- visaged Woe, 
that you 
Can take my soul and twist it to your 
whim. 
It may be you can force on me the brew 
Of bitter trial with your frowning grim. 
But never while my Heart holds true to cheer 
Can all your venturings in deadly care, 
Or your emprises in the realm of fear, 
Within that smiling Soul enthrone 
Despair. 



March Second 







THE DWELLING-PLACE 

T^HE Dwelling-place of Light 

Is not in yonder Sun, 
Nor in the Stars of night 

When day at last is done, 
But in the Human Soul 

It flames forever free 
And cheers the Road of Dole 

With Love and Sympathy. 



March Third 



MINE ENEMY 

nnHE only enemy I know, 

My one and only fearsome foe, 
I do conceive to be 
That curious old creature who 
Ne'er leaves my side whate'er I do, 
And all men know as me — 
And him I fight 
Both day and night 
With all my strength and weight 
And do my best 
In every test 
To keep the fellow straight. 



March Fourth 




PARTNERS 

TN all the rush and all the roar 

And all the turmoil and the war 
Of daily life, though 'tis not clear 
For what, and why, and how we're here, 
'Tis good to be a part of it, 
To strive with brawn and brain and wit, 
And with our powers overcome 
The hazards hard and burdensome; 
Since all these burdens that we bear 
In things of trial and of care 
Must be for some objective high 
That we shall share in by and by. 






March Fifth 




WEEDLESS 

YF it be true "all flesh is grass," 

As we have oft been told, 
And that all withers and must pass 

Before the winter's cold, 
While I've my share I'm going to see 

To all my grassy needs, 
And hold it freshly green, and free 

From all destructive weeds. 



March Sixth 



IN PROPORTION 

T KNOW I'm not a statesman of the type 

of Washington. 
I know I cannot do the things that Edison 

has done. 
I know I cannot pen such lines as Billy 

Shakespeare writ, 
And when compared to old Mark Twain, 

God knows I'm not a wit. 
But with the tools that I have got — they're 

mighty small and few — 
I go about my daily stint, and all I can 

I do, 
And while I'm not renowned as those who 

wear the diadem 
I'm just as great for little me as they are 

great for them. 

March Seventh 



A CHEERFUL INSTITUTION 

TF I had old Croesus' wealth 

I'd found a University 
Where Souls could go to study Health, 
And Scientific Amity. 
I'd have a Chair 
On Handling Care, 
A dozen Teachers of Good Will; 
A two-year course 
Upon the Force 
Of Laughter as a Cure for 111 — 
Lectures on Love, and Sympathy, 

And How to Grin When Days Are Drear, 
And give a graduate degree 
Of Bachelor of Cheer. 



March Eighth 



A LONG QUEST 

T'M daily looking for a man 

As on my way I go — 
His features and his general plan 
I greatly wish to know. 

He's never very far away, 
And yet we've never met — 

He's been my comrade every day 
Since first my course was set. 

He is that man inside o' me 
That holds the most of good 

That I myself some day might be 
If I but understood. 



March Ninth 



A MARCH DAY 

T^HE day was dark and tearful, 
A But I — I made it cheerful 
By thinking of some other days 
All full of fair and golden ways 
Whose memory had made my path 
Immune to things of woe and wrath, 
And turned the desolated scene 
Into a picture fresh and green, 
As any soft and springy time 
Praised by the poet in his rhyme. 



March Tenth 



MY FACE 

TF so you do not like my face 

To me it matters not. 
Perhaps it lacks all lines of grace, 

But it's the best I've got, 
And if I keep it lit with cheer, 

And always smiling-eyed, 
And unafraid confronting fear — 

Why, I am satisfied. 



March Eleventh 



MODELING 

VITHEN Woe comes stalking near 
* Imperiling my cheer, 
I bear it as I must, 
And view its painful thrust 
As might a marble block 
That bears the hammer-shock 
Of him who fashions there 
A bit of sculpture rare, 
And patient wait to see 
What's to be made of me, 
And what life's modeling 
Out of my soul will bring. 



March Twelfth 




A GOOD INVESTMENT 

TNVEST yourself In smiling cheer, 

And you will gain rich dividends, 
Paid every day throughout the year 

In kindly welcome from your friends. 
Man's capital is but himself, 

And its return is joy or stress, 
So why not choose the sweeter pelf 

That one derives from friendliness? 



March Thirteenth 



PROFIT 

"I17HEN with the set of sun 
^ " I find my duty done, 
Then can I rest in peace 
And find in dreams increase; 
The hours of night all gain, 
Unvexed by care and pain, 
And greet the new-born day 
That follows on their way 
Refreshed, and smiling view 
The things that I must do. 



March Fourteenth 



UNREAL TROUBLES 

IF I must have an ill, may it be real, 

That I may meet it eye to eye and fight, 
And wheresoever it may strength reveal 

Get after it with all my main and might. 
The woe that but impends and wears the 
mind 
With worry deep and most vexatious 
care, 
Is harder fighting than the realler kind, 
For when you come to strike — it isn't 
there ! 



March Fifteenth 



FILL IT 

OING a little, laugh a little, your fill 

^ heart with cheer. 

Drop your worries and your troubles; drop 

your gibe and sneer. 
Joy in all the sunny hours in the morning 

light, 
And the starry wonders of the sparkling 

skies at night. 
Look for good in all about you — you will 

find it there. 
God has lavished gifts of wondrous beauty 

everywhere. 
Love and Life and merry Laughter — all of 

these are here 
Ready for the taking if you'll fill your 

heart with cheer. 

March Sixteenth 



FLOWERS 

TF flowers have no soul, as some do say, 
Deep in mine own I'll hide them safe 

away 
And let them share what beauty there 

shall be, 
Just as their loveliness they've shared with 

me. 
Their lack I shall supply, and when at last 
On through the Gates of Mystery I've 

passed 
I think I'll find my Paradise more fair 
Because I've ta'en my floral comrades there. 



March Seventeenth 



CONTENTED 

"IRTISH you were a bird, do you? Well, 

I don't, and that's a fact. 
Soaring through the heavens blue doubtless 

is a thrilling act. 
But when I sit down to eat, bread and 

butter suits my whim — 
Bread and butter, pie and meat, not the 

worm that does for him. 

Flying — that would please my taste, swoop- 
ing through the upper air, 

But a bed of straw and waste in a swaying 
tree somewhere, 

That is not at all the kind that would suit 
the bones of me. 

Sport of every passing wind flirting with 
that chilly tree. 

March Eighteenth 



Be a bird if so you will. Everybody to his 

choice. 
Soar aloft, and sing, and trill, with your 

piping birdy voice. 
I'll remain contented here, all according to 

the plan 
That has placed me on this sphere just a 

common garden man. 



March Eighteenth 



REDEMPTION 

,r PIS sadly true that what is writ is writ, 
Nor can you change a single line of it. 
Indelible it stands, your record there 
For good or evil, be it dark or fair. 
But true as that may be 'tis also true 
A clear to-morrow lies ahead of you, 
And if the die for evil has been cast 
It holds the story only of the past. 
The future yet remains, and if you will 
Its pages, all unsullied, you may fill 
With deeds of honor high to blot away 
The record of that evil yesterday. 



March Nineteenth 



COMFORT 

/^RIEF is a woeful measure hard to bear, 
^* And some there be who yield up to 

despair, 
Yet, looking back through the remembered 

years 
With all their portions full of scalding tears, 
I've known no grief that did not ope to me 
Well-springs of Friendliness and Sympathy; 
Nor failed to find in depths 'neath sorrow's 

frown 
The loving hand of Fellowship stretched 

down. 



March Twentieth 



MELLOWING 

A CCUMULATING years to some spell 
-** age- 
To me each one is but a fresher page 
That opens up new prospects to the sight 
And shows life's loveliness in fuller light; 
And 'tis my prayer that as the years pass by 
I'll not seem older to the friendly eye, 
But riper grown and ever mellowing, 
Like the rich fruits that from young blos- 
soms spring. 



March Twenty-first 




NO TRIBUTE 

¥ SHALL not spoil a morning fair 

With any groans of mine, 

Nor dim with shadows of despair 

The glad sun's golden shine. 

I shall not add a note of woe 

To any stormy day, 
But rather seek with laughter's glow 

To drive the storm away. 

So whatsoe'er the weather be, 
Clear days or dark with rain, 

Old Master Care will ask of me 
A tribute all in vain. 



March Twenty-second 



ALL IN ONE 

ETERNITY 

*-** Don't bother me 
The very littlest bit. 

I feel somehow 

This minute, Now, 
Is all there is to it. 

For Time is but 
An endless strut 

Of minutes such as this, 
Which, understood 
And used for good, 

Will fructify in bliss. 



March Twenty-third 



CONCEALED TREASURE 

V^7HY brood on others' manners bad? 
Perhaps they were the best they had. 
And possibly they never yet 
Have even heard of etiquette. 
Just take them as they come, and find 
Relief by bearing well in mind 
That roughest ledges sometimes hold 
Deep veins within of purest gold. 



March Twenty-fourth 






A CALL 

HTWENTY-FOUR hours are mine to-day 
For work, and rest, and thought, and 
play, 

And in each one of them I see 

A gift of Opportunity 

To carry on, if I've the bent, 

God's work of earthly betterment. 

The time is full, the way is clear, 
The tools to do the work are here. 
And few of us have need to ask 
The why or wherefore of the task, 
Such are the needs that round us lurk — 
So, Brother, rise, and get to work! 



March Twenty-fifth 



SAFETY 

AN atom in the Universe — 
"^ That's all I am, I know, 
And yet for better or for worse 

I'm rather glad it's so, 
For Malice seeks the shining mark, 

And Envy shoots above, 
But in the light or in the dark 

There's naught too small for Love. 



March Twenty-sixth 



EVIDENCES 

A SMALL bird flying North to-day 
"^ Told me that spring was on the way, 
And paused upon my window-sill 
A little snatch of song to trill 
Which made me think of April showers, 
And sunny gardens full of flowers, 
And blossoms white upon the trees, 
And lyric whispers of the breeze, 
Of May and June, and then I knew 
The secret that he told was true! 



March Twenty-seventh 



THE WISE FOOL 

TT may be I'm the Fool of Hope, 

But when in mazes dark I grope 
And there's no light to show the way 
Into a brighter, clearer day, 
Hope in the stricken heart of me 
Serves to assuage perplexity, 
And Fool or not I forward fare 
Eased of a portion of my care. 









March Twenty-eighth 






VALUES 

T LITTLE care how tall you are, 
A Nor if you're small how small you are. 
The thing that matters most to me 
Is not how big your body be, 
Nor how much cash you've stored away, 
Nor on the scales how much you weigh, 
But how much soul you've set apart, 
And what's the measure of your heart, 
And in your share of stocks preferred 
What is the value of your word. 
If these be always kept at par, 
It matters not how small you are, 
Nor on what lowly planes you press — 
you've won success! 



March Twenty-ninth 



TWO RAILS 

A RAIL was lying in the sun 
***■ Beside a highway dusty, 
And, resting idle, all it won 

Was but a coating rusty. 
Another, bearing every day 

The burden of stern duty, 
Took on a gleam of silver gay 

That shimmered in its beauty. 



March Thirtieth 



THE SEQUENCE 

Tj^XIT winter, cheerless, cold, 

With its blasts all blustering, 
With its ways so braggart bold, 
Enter now the smiling spring. 

Out of all the dark and drear 
Of the frowning winter hours 

Come the loveliness and cheer 
Of the laughing skies and flowers. 

Thus ofttimes on woe and pain, 
On the trail of things of fear, 

Follows all the joyous gain 
Of a new-born day of cheer. 



March Thirty-first 



APRIL 

TTERE she comes with her beguiling 
Ways and sunny prospects smiling, 
Lovely April with her showers 
Freshening the lanes and bowers, 
Making ready for the flowers. 

She's perhaps a trifle tearful, 
But at heart she's warm and cheerful, 
And her tears are not of sadness, 
But the tears of joyous gladness 
To escape from winter's madness. 

Rain or shine, I'll not reprove her, 
For with all my soul I love her, 
Since she speeds me from the gray time 
Of black winter to the play-time 
Of the glad -and blissful May-time. 
April First 



HOLD FAST 

^HAT man can ne'er grow old who keeps 
A secure 

Within his heart and soul some of the joy- 
All free of care, in character so pure, 

Of being, spite of years, a smiling boy. 

Hold fast to Boyhood, Friend! The hours 
will fly; 
Your brow will bear the mark of fleeting 
days, 
And Time may dim the luster of your eye, 
But hearts stay young that hold to 
youthful ways. 



April Second 



A PREFERENCE 

T DO not like the Owl because he hoots, 
And that's a sort of thing that never 
suits 
My optimistic mind, 
For hoots are nothing more than empty 

sneers, 
And sorry gibes, and mean and cynic jeers, 
Bespeaking thoughts unkind. 

I much prefer the happier bird that sings, 
And soars above the cloud on outstretched 
wings, 

And greets the golden morn 
With tuneful carolings that seem to show 
His heart within with joy is all aglow, 

And free from taint of scorn. 

April Third 



THE FLOWER 

TF it be true that man is like a flower 

That lives and dies in but one little hour, 
'Twere well if, like the flower, he so gives 
Of beauty, life is sweeter while he lives. 

So in this span so brief how fine 'twould be 

If man could live his hour florally, 

And, like the Rose, whose span is Beauty's 

gain, 
Add to earth's joy and ease the sting of 

pain! 



April Fourth 



KEY-NOTES 

ITtTHO would yield to black despair 
When sweet April's silky air 

Holds him in its kindly arms? 
Air that o'er the tree and bush 
Out of winter's icy hush 

Spreads a veil of leafy charms? 

Who'd give way to thoughts of night 
In the days of warming light 

That from out drab wintry woes 
Leads the earth to vernal bowers 
Gaily decked with fragrant flowers — 

Lily, violet, and rose? 

Who would dwell on things of wrong 
When the glad birds with their song 

April Fifth 



Make the golden morning ring? 
Fresh resolve and courage true 
For the tasks we have to do 

Are the key-notes of the spring! 



April Fifth 



CHANGED AMBITION 

| USED to think it would be fine 

To be a King of Royal Line, 
And hold the people of the land 
Obedient to my command. 
But, now that Kings are on the run, 
With that ambition I am done, 
And am well satisfied to be 
A common garden mortal, free 
To walk my way and win the pelf 
Of him who's Master of Himself. 



April Sixth 



IN HOURS OF GRIEF 

TN your grief for some one gone 
Put no garb of mourning on — 
Rather think of magic ways 
Leading into sunlit ways 
Whitherward his spirit strays. 

Think of him as gone before 
Through the new dawn's open door 
Into scenes of splendor rare, 
Into fields of service where 
Lies forgetfulness of care. 



April Seventh 



THE GIFTS OF SPRING 

Q LOVELY springtide gifts— 
V ^ The golden light that lifts 
My spirit out of care; 
The soft and silken air 
That wraps earth round about 
And lures the flowers out; 
The welcome rains that speed 
The fructifying seed; 
The freshly vernal green 
That colors all the scene; 
The lovely blue of skies 
That rests the weary eyes; 
The music of the breeze, 
The magic of the trees 
That seem to whisper cheer 
To them that pause to hear — 
April Eighth 



For these, the Gifts of Spring, 
My gratitude I'll sing 
While I have voice to raise 
In thankfulness and praise! 



April Eighth 



THE PAST 

VEX me not with trials that are past, 
And yet I'd not forget the years now 
sped 
With all the render memories that cast 
Their kindly spell upon the paths I tread. 

An heritage in joy, I'll hold it close, 
Unmindful of its stress and fevers hot, 

As perfect as some well-remembered Rose 
For beauty cherished and the thorns 
forgot. 



April Ninth 



ORIGINS 

T KNOW some souls of such rare grace 
They make me think the human race 
Sprang not from Apes, as Darwin says, 
Back in the prehistoric days, 
But from two Sunbeams blithe and gay 
Who on some smiling bygone day 
Strayed from the Fount of Light, and sped 
Off to the green world, there to wed, 
And gave us Love to rule the earth 
And people it with Souls of Worth. 



April Tenth 



A WELCOME VISITOR 



T. 



'HAT little boy I used to be 
Comes back at times to visit me, 
And with his laughter helps me o'er 
Hard spots and difficulties sore; 
And by his ready scent for sham 
Sometimes he shames the man I am 
And turns me back unto the way 
From which I've wandered far astray; 
And certain tawdry things I prize, 
Seen through his penetrating eyes, 
Reveal their hollowness and speed 
My heart and hand to worthier deed. 



April Eleventh 




ALWAYS AT HOME 

T FIND it pays to love the world so much, 
And with my fellows hold so close a 

touch, 
That it small matter makes just where I be, 
There's just a bit of home surrounding me. 
Who loves his kind and sees the things of 

worth 
In such abundance throughout all the earth, 
Can never feel the sad and bleak distress 
Of Strangers overcome with loneliness. 



April Twelfth 



THE GIFT 

A THING that's older than the hills, 

Yet young as any new-born day; 
Light-hearted as the bird that trills, 
Yet stable as the mountains gray; 
In joy a measure full of song, 

In grief the surest treasure-trove, 
Boon to the weak, strength to the strong- 
The ever golden gift of Love! 



April Thirteenth 



THE SHIP 

T LITTLE care for things that buffet me. 
No more than ships that ride the stormy 

sea 
And sail undaunted on, and nobly brave 
The pestering of angry wind and wave. 
For I'm a ship upon the seas of life, 
And must sail onward through the spumy 

strife, 
And if I'm stanch and hold my courses 

clear, 
I know I'll find at last the Ports of Cheer! 



April Fourteenth 



A PLEASANT THREAT 

I'M going to take a gun to-day 
A And shoot at folks along the way 
With bullets made of joyous mirth, 
And hints of hope and peace on earth, 
And kindliness, and wholesome glee, 
And all the sweets of sympathy, 
And make the streets a shambles of 
Sheer Brotherhood and Human Love. 



April Fifteenth 



ALONGSIDE 

Yy HATEVER tnm s s m y wa y s betide 

* * I'll seize what joys lie by my side, 
Nor risk the loss that waits anon 
In bliss uncertain farther on. 
Thus shall each day provide its share 
Of joyousness to ease my care, 
And if some dawn shall be all gray 
The hoarded light of Yesterday 
I'll use to brighten with its glow 
The path beset with present woe. 



April Sixteenth 



A REALIZATION 

T'VE given up the pleasant labor 

Of finding weakness in my neighbor, 
And sought to find what faults there be 
Hid deep within the Thing called Me; 
And I must say if there is fun 
In finding faults in any one, 
There's fun enough right there in sight 
To keep me grinning day and night 
From now until I leave this earth 
To visit realms of greater worth. 



April Seventeenth 



STRENGTH 

HPHE strongest man I ever knew 

Was not of that steel-fibered crew 
Who lift great weights or run for days 
Over the Marathonian ways, 
But he who in a day of woe, 
His heart with anger all aglow, 
His soul with rank injustice stung, 
Had the rare strength to hold his tongue 
And bear with patient fortitude 
The slings and arrows harsh and rude 
In fullest confidence that Right 
Would rise triumphant into light. 



April Eighteenth 



THE VERDICT 

¥ HOPE to live to-day 
"■• In such a proper way 
That when To-morrow sits 
In judgment on it its 
Keen penetrating eye 
Will view it smilingly, 
And righteously conclude 
That it was pretty good. 



April Nineteenth 






PICTURES 

T'VE never seen old Tokyo, nor visited in 

Lhassa. 
I've never looked on China, or the forests 

of Mombassa, 
But I've no doubt that they exist, for I've 

seen pictures of 'em, 
Full of the beauties rich and rare that 

make the natives love 'em. 

And so it is with future things. Of Heaven 

I've a feeling 
We've pictures of it everywhere, its beauties 

rich revealing, 
In human love, and sympathy, and all the 

glorious leaven 
Of lovely things the Earth provides to prove 

the truth of Heaven. 

April Twentieth 







BAD COMPANY 

"/^OOD morning, Mr. Care/' quoth I. 
^^ "I thought I saw you passing by, 
And pause to say 'twould pleasing be 
If you would come and visit me. 
I like to pass away week-ends 
Surrounded by my pleasant friends, 
And I've invited Brother Cheer, 
And Mr. Unafraid-of-Fear, 
And Sisters Smiling-Face and Joy, 
And Love, the Springtide's little boy, 
To meet you if you'll come along 
And join us in a day of song." 

But Mr. Care just frowned on me. 
He didn't like my company, 
And ever since then, be it said, 
The poor old chap has cut me dead. 
April Twenty-first 



HOPE 

A REFUGE sure in days of pain 
"^ Which never yet has proven vain 
Lies in our Hope, and no Despair, 
However fortified with Care, 
Can penetrate the fastness strong 
Where Hope commands, nor any Wrong 
Win out, however great its might, 
Before the rich glow of its light. 



April Twenty-second 



STRENGTHENING 

A MOUNTAIN in my path? Tis well— 
^ 'Tis good to climb and from the height 
Look o'er the distant vale and dell 

Into the countries of Delight. 
The smoother way is fair, no doubt, 

But yields no zest unto the chase, 
And obstacles o'ercome bring out 

Undreamed-of powers to win the race. 



April Twenty-third 



ASPIRATION 

OTRONG as the Oak, yet tender as the 
° Rose! 

In storm defiant of the wind that blows, 
And facing wintry ills with eye serene 
Despite the travails black that vex the 

scene, 
Yet smiling as fair April's Garden Close 
When there's a call of any kind to me 
For gifts of Love and human Sympathy — 
That is the sort of human I would be! 



April Twenty-fourth 



THE HARVEST 

TF in each day we press 
Rich gifts of loveliness, 
And ever keep the light 
Of Brotherhood in sight, 
The harvest that shall be 
Will prove all amity, 
And life will render us 
A treasure glorious. 



April Twenty -fifth 



TOLERANCE 

VVfHEN I cannot agree 

With those opposed to me 
I'll try at least to find 
With all my powers of mind 
Whatever may be true 
In others' points of view, 
Until there may be found 
A common vantage-ground 
Whence they and I may press 
Forward in friendliness. 



April Twenty-sixth 



MUNITIONS 








/^OLD would I have in goodly store 
^^ To fight the wolves outside my door 
And hold grim poverty at bay 
And drive substantial cares away. 
But even better than the dross 
That guised as gain is often loss, 
To battle with the hosts of fear 
Grant me the goodly gift of cheer, 
For gold's an evanescent pelf, 
While cheer well-spent renews itself. 



April Twenty-seventh 






SOURCES 

" lX/JAY it be mine, when storm-clouds 

lower, 
To fill with peace some troubled hour 
Of one who in the depths of sorrow 
Looks forth with dread upon the morrow. 
May it be mine on some dark day 
To speed the stricken on their way 
With thoughts of cheer, and love, and light, 
And new-born courage for the fight." 

'Twas thus I prayed, and from the sea 
Of night a star-beam flashed to me — 
"He best gives light who hath the wit 
First to fill self and soul with it." 
And that is why each passing day 
I drink in sunshine where I may, 
And from the Moon and Stars by night 
Exact some tribute of their light. 

April Twenty-eighth 






A WISH 

T DO not pine for Easy Street 
A Where life is indolently sweet, 
And everything runs smoothly on 
To nothing much that lies anon. 
I rather like the busier way 
Where effort crowns the toil of day, 
Where I must dare and use my wit 
To do some kind of useful bit. 
I only ask that I may dwell 
Where I may serve my fellows well, 
And if I walk, or chance to ride, 
'Twill be upon the sunny side. 



April Twenty-ninth 









IMMORTAL! 

rpHERE is no Death! Man lives his day 
1 And passes on the unseen way, 
His deeds in days of peace and strife 
Forming the measure of his life; 
And every bit of good he's done 
Living forever, on and on, 
Part of the vast and splendid whole 
Of God's imperishable Soul. 



April Thirtieth 



A MAY-DAY WHIM 



T ET me go forth upon the sunlit way 

And revel in the beauties of the day, 
The greening trees, the zephyrs at their play. 

Let song of bird rout every thought ol care, 
And all the fragrance of the gardens fair 
Make sweetly odorous the morning air. 

Let me drink in life's beauty as the Bee 
Sips sweetness from the Rose's bounty free, 
Until I'm fairly drunk with ecstasy. 

And then when with the May-time's joys 

replete 
To toil-worn ways I turn my dancing feet, 
Let me transmit that joy to all I meet, 
May First 






That others sharing in that meed of cheer 
May greet me smilingly when I appear, 
And cry, " Hurrah ! The Son of May is here !" 



May First 






THE SEED 

OEND out each day some pleasant whim 

Designed to make the hour less grim 
For some one in the grip of woe, 
And like a flower-seed 'twill grow 
Into a rich and fragrant bloom 
That yet may lighten thine own gloom, 
And into some dark hour press 
An unsuspected loveliness. 



May Second 





THE TREASURY 

T WOULD I could devise some way 

To store the loveliness of May 
For use in some far-off November 
Or in the days of chill December. 

A goodly plan it were to try 

To seize the gold from out the sky 

And in some sanctuary store 

A portion of its lovely score. 

What safer strong-box could there be 
Beyond the reach of thievery 
For all this wealth of gracious toll 
Than in the coffers of the soul? 



May Third 



THE SINGING BREEZE 

A BREEZE came by upon a city street 
"^ So filled with stress and onward-rush- 
ing feet 
It did not seem that anywhere could be 
A touch of quiet and tranquillity, 
And as it passed along 
It seemed to sing a song 
Of dark-green woods, and richly verdured 

hills, 
And fresh-turned fields, and laughing moun- 
tain rills, 
That danced by mossy banks with ferns 

o'ergrown 
Where weary feet might wander, not alone, 
But in the dear companionship so blest 

Of perfect rest. 
May Fourth 



And I — I thanked that little breeze because 
Into the city's rush that knows no pause 
It brought me dreams of byways passing 

fair 
Where one may woo forgetfulness of care, 
And hearts grown weary of the world's 

alarms 
May find sweet respite in dear Nature's 

arms. 



May Fourth 



A TOAST TO EARTH 

VT'E call me "earthy of the earth " 
* As though I'd little of true worth, 

And are inclined to frown and sneer 

Because I sing of blessings here, 
And take a smiling attitude 
Of unremitting gratitude 

For "worldly" gifts of loving cheer. 



Well, sneer and jeer — I am content, 
For while in Earth's confines I'm pent 
It is the field God's given me 
In lavish generosity, 

To make the best I can of it, 
To seek and find the plan of it, 
And make it what He'd have it be. 
May Fifth 



So here's to Earth — a gift of love 
For us to taste the sweetness of! 
A Garden fair with flowers gay 
That we may gather day by day! 
Its beauties, I shall sing of them, 
And sound the golden ring of them 
Till life itself hath passed away. 



May Fifth 



THE POINT OF VIEW 

HHHE world is here for what it is: 
* A thing of pain, a thing of bliss; 
A thing of dullness or of wit, 
According as we look on it. 
If in my heart I dwell on woe, 
And on the weeds that in it grow, 
'Twill prove a sorry sort of place 
Devoid of beauty and of grace. 

But if I spend my waking hours 
In thinking on its lovely flowers 
And all the blessings I have got, 
'Twill be for me a garden-spot. 
Wherefore, whatever woes may press 
I'll think upon earth's loveliness 
And thereby win the gracious good 
Of its unbounded plenitude. 
May Sixth 



THE LITTLE BIRD 

"pEEP!" said a little bird one morn 
When I was feeling quite forlorn. 
I took a "peep" and saw arrayed 
In loveliness the world displayed. 

"Cheep!" said the little bird, and I 
The truth of it could not deny, 
For all earth's lavish beauty spent 
On me had cost me not a cent. 



May Seventh 



TO HAPPYLAND 

p\OWN with all things melancholic! 

Spring was made for joyous frolic. 
Music greets us everywhere, 
Flowers fragrant scent the air, 
Lawns for dancing feet are spread, 
Skies are smiling overhead. 
Sunlit vistas lure the eye 
Into golden prospects nigh. 
Sense of buoyant youth renewed 
Stirs the heart to gratitude. 
Wherefore, Brothers, let's be jolly! 
Fling away all melancholy, 
And with Nature, hand in hand, 
Hie us on to Happyland! 



May Eighth 



THE END AND THE BEGINNING 

A GE holds no fears for me. 
"^ I face it cheerfully, 
For I've a faith sublime, 
And growing all the time, 
That when life's cruise is o'er 
I'll find another shore 
Whence I may forward press 
To scenes of loveliness, 
And far from being vexed 
By years, I think, "What next?" 
And smiling wait upon 
The mysteries anon. 



May Ninth 



PAGES OF LIFE 

TF from the page of some insensate book 
* A cheery flower of Hope may sometimes 

spring, 
And into some dark-shadowed spirit nook 

A gleam of light to ease its sorrow bring, 
How much the more from out the living day 

Of human sympathy may there be borne 
A stream of radiance to light the way 

From woe to joy for travelers forlorn. 



May Tenth 




THE SINGING WAY 

[ IKE to the winging bird I'd soar aloft 
^ Into the springy air so fairly soft, 
And on the topmost bough of some green 

tree 
Pour out in song the very soul of me, 
And with the breezes speed my singing way 
Rejoicing in the loveliness of day, 
With thanks for earth which holds in lavish 

meed 
Rich gifts of every kind to meet my need. 



May Eleventh 



THE LAUGHING SONG 

J *D like to write a laughing song, 
•*■ A rollicking and chaffing song, 

So lively and so jolly 
'Twould put a real quietus on 
The troubles that await us on 

Account of melancholy. 

I want to see a tearful world 
Transformed into a cheerful world, 

All full of happy hours, 
Where we can joy in May again, 
And little children play again 

Among the smiling flowers. 

So help me write my happy song, 
A brightly lilting, snappy song, 
May Twelfth 








- 

To sing upon the morrow, 
When God's fair world set free again 
From strife and misery again 

Shall rise to joy from sorrow. 




May Twelfth 




HOPES RESTORED 

/^\UR hopes may wane and fade away, 
^^^ And gloom attend the darkening day, 
But this I know: no gloomy hour 
Can hold me in its gripping power. 
For though all gray that hour may be 
Another soon will come to me 
Bright with the golden glow of morn, 
New Hopes upon its fleet wings borne, 
On which I yet may rise and find 
The lofty bays I have in mind. 



May Thirteenth 



PROMISES 

T SAW a blossom on a tree 

That told of fruit to come to me. 

I saw the sun all golden bright 
That promised endless stores of light. 

I heard a bird sing songs at noon 
That held the lilt of coming June. 

I glimpsed a light in some one's eye, 
A promise sweet of "by and by." 

On every hand, below, above, 
Are promises aglow with love 

That tide me over stressful things 
And give new strength to weary wings. 

May Fourteenth 







IMMUNE 

UAMMER on, Fate! 

Whack, and slam, and bang! 
Land with all your weight — 
I don't give a hang! 

I am here to-day 
And the skies are blue, 

And I'll joy in May 
In despite of you. 

All your bumps and shoves 
Can't destroy the flowers 

For the soul that loves 
May-time's happy hours. 

Slap and snap and sneer 
Every chance you see. 
Not a plaint or tear 
Will you get from me. 
May Fifteenth 




THE DAILY BOOK 

Tj^ACH day I live is like a book to me, 

All full of pure romance and mystery, 

With love and laughter and some tragedy. 

I read it as I run, and try to find 
My place in it, a place of proper kind 
To suit my qualities of heart and mind. 

I cannot be its hero, but 'tis clear 
That if I smiling go in my own sphere 
My part in it will be a part of cheer — 

And that's a role that in the story's stress 
'Tis well to play if when it leaves the press 
The tale shall end in love and happiness. 

May Sixteenth 




WIRELESS 

VTOW wireless telegraphy 
"^ Is quite a wondrous thing to me, 
Although I must admit it's true 
There's nothing in it very new, 
For ever since the world began, 
And maid was maid, and man was man, 
Without the aid of earthly arts 
Hearts e'er have spoken unto hearts, 
And sent their messages of cheer 
Vibrating through the atmosphere. 



May Seventeenth 



THE MIRTH-CURE 

i^\NCE in the grip of a malign mischance, 
^^^ A victim of an evil circumstance, 
I thought of something funny, and I grinned, 
Forgetful of the woe that had me pinned, 
And all the ill that vexed my soul with 

care 
Went off like smoke and vanished in the air, 
And, freed of thoughts of it, I saw the way 
Out of the trials sore that spoiled my day, 
And soon emerged out of my chancy plight 
Into the golden glory of the light. 



May Eighteenth 



A RESOLVE 

13 AIN or shine, it's naught to me 

^ What the outer weather be, 
If inside a heart of cheer 
Routs all thoughts of irksome fear. 
Like a tree that stands serene 
In the midst of tempests green, 
Whatsoever winds are blowin' 
I shall smile and keep a-growin'! 






May Nineteenth 



UNDERSTUDIES 

\17HEN Mr. Sun with all his power 
" * Thro' clouds can't make his way, 
And all the skies are dark and dour, 

And gloomy is the day, 
A twinkling eye, a friendly smile, 

Some action full of grace, 
Will help us for a little while 

To take the old boy's place. 



May Twentieth 



TO THE ROSE 

''PHEY call you, Rose, a royal thing 

Because your lavish coloring 
Suggests the garb of reigning king — 

But I demur, O Rose, at that. 
To me you're no aristocrat, 
But just a simple democrat, 

Because, no matter who he be, 
King, peasant, clod, or royalty, 
You deign to nod at all you see. 

With one and all your beauties fair, 
Your lovely hues, your fragrance rare, 
Without reserve you freely share, 

And never ask if he be high, 
Or lowly placed, who passes by, 
And all stand equal in your eye. 
May Twenty-first 



IN PLAIN SIGHT 

"1_JAS any one e'er seen the Soul?" 
*- Aye — that have I, and often, too ! 

So oft 'twould take an endless scroll 
To hold the record full and true. 

I've seen it in a Mother's eye; 

Perceived it in a friendly hand; 
In acts of grace and sympathy 

I've witnessed it in every land. 

Where love reveals its winning smile, 
Where Brotherhood the spirit is; 

Where living Truth hath conquered Guile, 
And Mercy tempers Nemesis; 

Where Faith and Honor dwell serene, 
And Service hath become the goal, 

E'en sightless eyes full well have seen. 
That splendid vision of the Soul. 

May Twenty-second 



THE THIEF 

T FIND that Unbelief 

Is nothing but a thief 
That robs me of my sense 
Of God's rich providence; 
That takes from me the light 
The Heavens hold in sight 
To lead my soul above 
To realms of endless love; 
That wrests from me the bays 
That urge to higher ways, 
And clouds the smiling face 
Of Everlasting Grace, 
To leave me in my stress 
A world of Nothingness. 



May Twenty-third 



THE HOMEWARD WAY 

\7"ES, life is a stormy journey, 

And the skies are sometimes bleak, 
And the rough-and-tumble journey 
Finds me weak. 

But I waste no time in fretting 
As my troubled way I roam, 
For I know each day I'm getting 
Nearer home! 



May Twenty-fourth 



THE LINK 

A DAY is short, and oft I think 
"^ It counts but little in the strife, 
Yet each one forms a special link 
To make or break the chain of life. 



May Twenty-fifth 



YOUR SHARE 

X/'OUR place may be an humble place; 
You may not run the swifter race; 
You may be classed among the small 
Of whom the world ne'er hears at all; 
And yet the sun that shines above, 
And all the wealth of human love, 
Are yours as much as his whose might 
Has placed him on the topmost height — 
E'en more, perhaps, for some who climb 
For Love and Light have little time. 



May Twenty-sixth 



VISIONS 

X/'OUR dreams may not come true 

Just to the letter, 
Yet make a world of rue 

Brighter and better 
With hints of nobler heights 
That tempt to loftier flights; 
So dream away, my lad, 

Despite derisions, 
And keep your spirit glad 

With golden visions 
That open up new ways 
To fresher, greener bays 

And high ambitions. 



May Twenty -seventh 



A RESOLVE 

T SHALL not sing the bad, 

I shall not sing the wrong, 
I shall not let the sad 

Intrude upon my song. 
But all my singing days 

In scenes of peace or strife 
I'll chant in lines of praise 

The graciousness of life. 



May Twenty-eighth 



STUMBLING 

TF you shall stumble now and then, 
Don't let a fall your spirits balk. 
Rise up upon your feet again 

As when, a child, you learned to walk, 
And stride along upon your way, 

And there will come a time secure 
When, as in that far childhood day, 

You found your halting footstep sure. 



May Twenty-ninth 



MEMORIAL DAY 

T^OR them that died that men might be 

, Forever and forever free, 
This is the day of Memory. 

Fair Nature's self devotes her powers 

With all her golden sunny hours 

To spreading o'er them fragrant flowers. 

Where there shall fall a drop of rain 
'Tis but the tear to prove their pain 
And sacrifice were not in vain. 

And if the skies shall be all blue 

Their azure is the flawless hue 

That stands for Honor tried and true. 



May Thirtieth 



THE VICTOR 

/^\NE grasped at stars, and seized but 
^^ emptiness, 

The sheer vacuity of space, and then 
Out of the vales of failure, in distress, 
Bemoaned the blindness of his fellow-men, 
Because they could not see 
How truly great was he. 

Another grasped the nettle at his side, 

And never even dreamed to win a name, 
And sought the deed of Service without 
pride 
Or thought ambitious for undying fame, 
And wondered at the bays 
That crowned his later days. 

May Thirty-first 



THE MESSENGER 

VTOW Summer opens wide her door 
■^ And, with her gracious mien, 
She bids us pass the threshold o'er 

To prospects all serene. 
She offers us a wealth of hours, 

Of days that thrill with love, 
With lanes and pastures decked with flowers, 

And smiling skies above. 

Her Messenger is lovely June, 

All kindliness and grace, 
With light of sun and stars and moon, 

Illumining her face. 
With music soft and zephyrs sweet, 

And beauty all awake, 
She lays her treasures at our feet 

That we may freely take. 

June First 



A FAIR IDEA 

TF one should ask me my idea of Heaven 
I think I'd answer six times out of seven 

That 'tis a place where Love sits on his 
throne, 

Where fear and all mistrust are quite un- 
known; 

Where care comes not, and life is all in tune, 

And from year's end to end 'tis always June. 



June Second 



JUDGMENT 

T NEVER knew a man so good 

A But I could find flaws if I would. 

I never knew a man so bad 

But that some virtue rare he had, 

And hence it is I cannot find 

A method certain in my mind 

By which to judge my brother's ways, 

In terms of blame, in lines of praise, 

And therefore feel no special call 

To judge my fellow-men at all. 



June Third 



THE PROOF 

T COULD not be an Atheist 

* Unless my soul could quite desist 

From all belief in Love; 
For Love, I hold, is but a form 
Of Godliness, and peace or storm 

Streams o'er us from above. 

And Godliness could not well be — 
Or so my logic teaches me — 

If there were not some source, 
Some Godlike fount and center whence 
In all its rare munificence 

That stream began its course. 



June Fourth 



ELATION 

I WALK my way on earth elate 

Because my heart has banished hate; 
Because my soul's too occupied 
With things of love to think of pride, 
And all the vanities that lead 
The spirit of mankind to greed; 
And everywhere I go I plan 
To find the good that lies in man; 
And when night comes I feel as though, 
Despite life's worries and its woe, 
I'd spent a host of happy hours 
In meadows filled with lovely flowers. 



June Fifth 



BLESSINGS TWAIN 

HP WO things I find most helpful in 
This complex world of joy and sin 
By which I'm often carried through 
The clouds that evil chances brew; 
The first is Gratitude for things 
Of good in past adventurings, 
The other Hope for good to be 
In days that lie ahead of me, 



June Sixth 



A GOOD END 

IF "Love's a sickness full of woe," 
As some old gloomy poet stated 
I'd be the very last to go 

To get myself inoculated; 
For if dear Love is a disease, 

A sort of miasmatic bubble, 
Since sometime I must die, 'twould please 

Me most to die of just that trouble. 



June Seventh 



FISHIN' 

QOIN' fishin'? Yes, I be, 

^^ But no hook ner line fer me, 

Fer I know a little brook 

Where ye don't need a line ner hook. 

Brook a-streamin' from above 
Full o' light and full o' love, 
Bringin' schools o' swarmin' cheer 
To us worried fellers here. 

Goin' to ketch a mess o' fun 
Swimmin' down from yonder Sun; 
Goin' to ketch a mess of air 
Makin* me fergit my care. 

Goin' to ketch a stock o' health — 
Finest kind o' human wealth — 
Fishin' in the waters free 
God's a-pourin* down on me. 

June Eighth 



MY FAITH 

T HAVE a Faith in things that are to be 
Which in all woes doth much to comfort 
me — 
A sense of an eternal Fatherhood 
That as a child I found supremely good, 
That held me safe from evil and alarms 
Enfolded in its all-protecting arms, 
And, tho' my stock of years is passing large, 
E'en as a little child I hold in charge 
That Faith that, whatsoever things may be, 
A Father's hand is still stretched out to me. 



June Ninth 







THE HATE THAT STEELS 

HPHEY tell me not to hate, yet am I glad 
1 When things of evil rear their heads 

to do 
Such deeds as only worlds run wholly mad 
Could match for pain, and wickedness, 
and rue, 
That while my heart is still a heart that 
sings 
Of that fair love that holds the spirit 
strong, 
It holds deep hatred for those evil things 
That steel the righteous hand to grapple 
wrong. 



June Tenth 



FRIENDLY OFFERINGS 

T^HERE'S no such thing as loneliness in 

June 
If with the world you'll put yourself in tune — 
By day the laughing flowers 
Will nod at you for hours, 
And when the night comes on the beaming 

Moon 
Will offer you her comradeship, and far 
Up in the Heavens vast some little star 
Will wink a roguish eye at you, 
And grin upon the sly at you, 
As if unto the end 
He'd like to be your friend. 
So, Brother, hasten! Get yourself in tune 
With all these friendly offerings of June — 
The Stars, the nodding Flowers, and the Moon. 

June Eleventh 



A FREQUENT CURE 

AT five o'clock each day 
"^ I fold my cares away, 
And when the whistle blows 
Completely drop my woes, 
And into night I slip, 
As on a pleasure-trip, 
Forgetting all my pain 
Till morning comes again; 
And, marvelous to say, 
When on the coming day 
I turn to seek my care 
I find it isn't there. 



June Twelfth 



THE POET 

lyfR. BEE'S a jolly rover, 

Humming through the fields of clover, 

Working while he seems to play. 
I don't wonder he's so jolly, 
Seeming free of melancholy. 
I'd be that way, too, by golly! 

Making honey all the day. 

Possibly he doesn't know it, 
But to me the Bee's a Poet 

Bent upon an endless rhyme — 
Through incessant measures swinging, 
Humming, strumming, drumming, singing, 
From the Heart of Beauty wringing 

Liquid sweetness all the time. 

June Thirteenth 



SPREAD IT 

/^ET in the Sunshine business, 

^* And spread your wares around, 

There's always some one in distress 

And darkness to be found — 
Some chap held in the grip of rue 

To whom a greeting warm 
Will seem like sunshine bursting through 

The evil clouds of storm. 



June Fourteenth 



FORTUNE 

\17HO would not help if so he could a 

brother bear his pain 
And count that little deed of good a measure 

of pure gain? 
Well, there are Brothers waiting, yes, 

they're calling every day; 
Their name is Legion, and they press in 

hosts along the way. 
And if a deed of Sympathy adds to the 

profit score, 
A fortune vast for you and me lies waiting 

at the door. 



June Fifteenth 



THE DAILY WORD 

T ET'S choose some word to-day 

To help us on our way — 
Some word like Sympathy, 
Or Hope, or Charity, 
Or Faith, or Love, or Light, 
And keep it e'er in sight, 
And use our Mother-wit 
To live the sense of it. 
Who knows but we shall find 
The word denotes our kind, 
And when the twilight falls 
And relaxation calls, 
'Twill comfort us to feel 
That we have made it real. 



June Sixteenth 



THE TREE 

>r piS nothing to be sad about 
■*• Because you cannot gad about. 
And roam from place to place 
In search of things to wake you up, 
And possibly to shake you up, 
In an eternal chase. 

Yon Tree is anchored where she is — 
And, oh! how wondrous fair she is 

As motionless she stands! 
You never hear her maundering 
Because she is not wandering 

O'er distant seas and lands. 

She stays in her appointed place, 
She takes her own annointed place, 

June Seventeenth 



Tap-rooted to the sod, 
And does her task beguilingly, 
And grows, and grows, all smilingly 

Up, ever up, to God. 



June Seventeenth 



OAK OR LILY? 

'"PHE Oak with endless length of days, 

The Lily passing like a flash of light, 

Both win from man a worthy meed of praise, 

The one for beauty and the one for might. 

Which would I be of these could I but 
choose? 

I cannot say, but this is in my mind, 
The lot of neither could I e'er refuse 

Could I, as they, be perfect of my kind. 



June Eighteenth 



SIGH NOT 

CIGH not for better worlds all full of bliss, 
But put your shoulder to life's whir- 
ring wheel 
And try to make a better one of this, 

And let the future what it will reveal. 
We've sighs enough without your adding 
more, 
And tears enough, and amplitude of sin, 
But all the while Joy stands outside the 
door 
And only waits your call to enter in. 



June Nineteenth 



A GOODLY CHOICE 

TF I shall win my goal or lose 

I may not be the chooser; 
But if the crown the fates refuse 
One choice will be, and that I'll choose: 

To be a smiling loser! 



June Twentieth 



THE DAY 

TV/fORN I rejoice in, since it brings me 
iV1 light, 

And sends me on my way with sense of 
power 
To do the things I must do ere the night 

Hath set an end unto the golden hour. 

Noon, too, I love with ardor, since the sun 
In full and mellowed glory gilds the blue, 

And shows the daily labor well begun, 
With goals in sight that I am speeding to. 

And night — the night is likewise dear to me 
Since with it comes relief from press and 
strain, 
With gifts of dreams through which the 
path I see 
Back to the vigor of the morn again. 
June Twenty-first 



THE TRIPLE HOLD 

ll/HEN things are going wrong 

And courage holds less strong, 
To win the bays anon — 

Hold on! 
When tempted to give way, 
Your purpose to betray, 
To win the day at last — 

Hold fast! 
When weariness descends, 
And weakness dire impends, 
To put Defeat to rout — 

Hold out! 



June Twenty-second 



SHEER WASTE 

npO hate an enemy I hold to be an idle 

whim 
That hurts me more, all said and done, 

than e'er it hurteth him. 
It clutters up my heart with wrath, and fills 

my soul with gloom, 
And wastes a lot of useful time on bitter 

thoughts of doom. 

It smears the bright blue of my skies with 

sordid tints of gray, 
And clouds with shadows dark the light of 

every passing day. 
So why should I give up my joys for hatred 

seething hot 
Of one who doesn't care a rap if I hate him 

or not? 
June Twenty-third 



ACHIEVEMENT 

T'M rather small, but I can do 
* The biggest things on earth, 
And with small effort put 'em through 
Despite their wondrous worth. 

For I can love and I can hope, 
And hold a friendly hand 

To mortals who in trouble grope 
Because I understand! 

And I can give a bit of cheer, 

And brighten up the day 
For some poor traveler pale with fear 

Upon the darkened way. 



June Twenty -fourth 



THE CLIMBER 

T KNEW a man who used his chains 

To climb on up to liberty, 
And found his later stock of gains 

The sweeter for his slavery; 
And in his freedom won he found 

Not less but greater servitude, 
And passed to realms beyond us, crowned 

With bays of golden gratitude. 



June Twenty-fifth 



THE OLD AND THE NEW 

HPHEY say there's really nothing new 
upon this gladsome earth; 

That all the jokes we laugh at are of very 
ancient birth; 

That all the great inventions of this won- 
drous age of ours 

Were known to the Egyptians and con- 
temporary powers. 

They say that all the stories by our story- 
tellers told 

Are but the variations of the narratives of 
old; 

That all the novel notions that we find 
in politics 

The Greeks and Romans tried out ere they 
journeyed o'er the Styx. 

June Twenty-sixth 



They say that Life and Laughter are as 

ancient as the hills; 
That there is nothing novel in our very 

latest ills; 
But when they say that Love is old — the 

oldest thing we see — 
I'm glad to say despite its age it's new 

enough for me! 



June Twenty-sixth 



THE BURDEN-BEARER 

IITHEN burdens hard my shoulders Dear, 
One thing I know to ease my care — 
'Twas God or I who placed them there! 

If by some act of mine they came, 
I know full well if I am game 
Some other act can lift the same. 

But if 'twas God that made of me 
The bearer of some burden He 
Wished carried forward sturdily, 

With heart and soul elate, and voice 
Upraised in thanks, I shall rejoice 
And strive to justify His choice! 

June Twenty-seventh 



EVER YOUNG 

T'LL not be old until that day comes by 

When I shall fail to feel the fresh surprise 

That all the splendors of the morning sky 

Reveal unto my soul through waking 

eyes. 

I'll not be old until I cease to hear 
The music in the whispers of the breeze, 

And listen with a dull, unheeding ear 
To Nature's so abundant harmonies. 

I'll not be old until my heart shall find 
No sense of love that's wrapped up in 
the rose, 

And holdeth no response as to its kind 
In all the beauty of the garden close. 

June Twenty-eighth 



I'll not be old until the soul of me 

Ceases to joy in Faith and Hope and 
Truth, 
And though an hundred years my span 
shall be, 
With these to guide I'll hold always to 
Youth. 



June Twenty-eighth 



SAFETY-DEPOSIT VAULTS 

f~\LD Midas keeps his bonds and stocks 
^^ Hid in a Safe-deposit Box 
Where thieves may not break in and seize 
His fine gilt-edged securities. 

I keep mine in the Vault of Blue 
That none disputes my title to — 
Great stores of streaming golden light, 
And shares in all the Stars of Night. 

A Mine of Loving Kindness pays 
Rich dividends to bless my days, 
And all its wondrous stores of love 
I hold within those vaults above, 

And need no lock, and need no key 
Lest thieves shall steal that wealth from me, 
Since I can give it all and still 
Find more those coffers vast to fill. 

June Twenty-ninth 






AS TO UNKIND WORDS 

rPHINK of all the unkind words in the 

dictionary. 
Add them, if you wish to, to your vocabulary. 
Keep 'em at your beck and call when you're 

feeling sneery. 
Have 'em at your finger-tips when you're 

sore and weary. 
Fit 'em to your angry mood — adjectives 

sarcastic; 
Words of overwhelming kind, trenchant, 

sharp, and drastic. 
Measure them with proper care, ponder 

them and weigh 'em. 
But no matter how you feel, don't you ever 

say 'em! 

June Thirtieth 



JULY SHOWERS 

TTERE comes sunny old July 
With a twinkle in her eye 
And her lovely smiling sky. 

Bids us turn to pleasant ways; 
Bids us think of playful days 
With her genial prancing rays. 

Dots the meadows with rare flowers, 
Thrills the eye with leafy bowers, 
Fresher made by cooling showers. 

Ah, those showers! To my mind 
They are gifts of Nature kind 
In our trials to remind 

Those of us beset by fears 
What rare loveliness appears 
As the aftermath of tears! 
July First 



BUILD 

TF you be expert or unskilled 
"*■ It matters little if you Build; 
And if in building you are true 
'Twill make an expert out of you. 
Waste little time in tearing down — 
Destruction wins no lasting Crown — 
The Souls that win the sweetest cup 
Are Builders! 

Builders ! 

Builders up! 



July Second 



July Third 



JULY 

pLOWER and song 

The whole day long! 
And soft starlight 
The livelong night! 
And breezes sweet 
To ease the heat; 
And glowing fields 
For harvest yields; 
And dancing rain 
To coax the grain; 
And skies the hue 
Of truest blue; 
And all things green 
With summer sheen — 
What wonder we 
Who truly see 
Are filled with cheer 
With July here! 



FREEDOM 

HPHE independence that I seek 

Is that which leaves me wholly free 
To serve the lowly and the meek, 
And for the voiceless soul to speak 

Such challenges to slavery 
That soon"; will dawn that perfect day 
When all men's chains have passed away, 
And Freedom is the portion fair 
Of Serf and Peon everywhere! 



July Fourth 



WILL 

A17ILL to be strong! 
* It won't be long 
Before you really are. 

Will to be free 

From misery 
And Care will draw afar. 

Will to be brave 

And e'en the grave 
Will lose its terrors black. 

Will to have health, 

And spirit wealth, 
And neither shall you lack! 



July Fifth 



THE EXCESS 

I'LL not complain of surplus heat 

On country lane or city street, 
But store the same deep in my heart 
Where later it may do its part 
When needy souls demand of me 
An alms of geniality. 



July Sixth 



THE TEST 

rpHE test o' me 

Is just to make the best o* me, 
And if perchance that is not good 
At least I've done the best I could, 
And, after all, it can't be hid, 
That's all Bill Shakespeare ever did! 



July Seventh 



INSURANCE 

TF so be you'd insure your life 

Against the shafts of earthly strife, 
An easy premium to pay 
Is just a bunch of smiles each day. 
A smile at dawn to greet the sun, 
A smile at eve when tasks are done, 
And in between, from nine to four, 
Keep doling out the smiling score, 
And every bit of fearsome care 
Will vanish into thinnest air, 
For Woe forgets her cruel wiles 
Before the spirit armed with smiles. 



July Eighth 



A PLEASANT GAME 

pRETEND that you're a power-house, 

Irradiating joy — 
A sort of cheerful dower-house 

Which nothing can destroy; 
And that you're pushing trolley-cars 

Upon the tracks of earth — 
A lot of smiling, jolly cars 

All echoing with mirth, 
The which are toting weary folks 

To scenes of peace and rest — 
You'll fill your world with cheery folks, 

And dwell among the blest. 



July Ninth 



THE POINT OF VIEW 

AN apple with a worm inside 
"^ Is not to man a thing of pride, 
And yet I cannot help surmise 
To Mr. Worm 'tis Paradise. 
Whence I deduce that one can find, 
If he but have a searching mind, 
Somehow in everything some good 
If it be rightly understood; 
And what is joy, or what is rue, 
Depends upon the point of view. 



July Tenth 



THE ACCOUNTING 

T STARTED in to count my cares, 

And lost the wheat for counting tares. 
I took a census of my woes, 
And, counting thorns, saw not the rose. 
'Twas then I turned the thing around, 
And, counting blessings up, I found 
That, dwelling on my stock of cheer, 
I hadn't any time for fear. 



July Eleventh 



INDEPENDENCE 

TITHATE'ER my forebears may have 

been, 
Ape, insect, bird, flesh, fowl, or fin, 
I am myself, and, rain or shine, 
Intend to fill the place that's mine. 
Say what you will, prove what you can, 
About the Origin of Man. 
No line of Monkey ancestry 
Can make a Monkey out of me. 



July Twelfth 



SATISFACTION 

TEST how this old world come to be 
•* Hain't never been quite clear to me, 

But this I know — 

Fer weal or woe 
It's quite the best I ever see! 



July Thirteenth 



OUT OF THE STORM 

ll^HEN tempests rage, what use to mope 
* * And look on life as void of hope, 
And just because the fierce winds blow 
Let all your nerve and courage go! 

Go out and let the gales so keen 
Sweep through your soul and make it clean, 
And let the rain that floods the day 
Wash all your gloomy thoughts away. 

Go out and face it, and as flowers 
Grow sweeter for the drenching showers, 
So let the storm, for all its rue, 
Refresh the heart and soul of you. 



July Fourteenth 



THE IMMORTAL THING 

T^HE world may change, and flowers fade, 
And Hope by evil chance betrayed 

Forever pass away. 
The fair blue of the skies may hide 
Behind the darkling clouds that ride 

Upon the wings of day. 
Our treasured plans may run askew, 
And desolation chill the view, 

Unto the mortal eye, 
But in the heart by sorrows wracked 
Remains the all-consoling fact 

That Love can never die! 



July Fifteenth 



A RESOLUTION 

I'M going to take my temper hot 

* Into the hills to-day, 

And in some tangled wooded spot 

Where humans seldom stray 
I'm going to lose it once for all 

Far from the haunts of men, 
Where, 'midst the brush and timber tall, 

'Twill ne'er be found again. 



July Sixteenth 



AGE-PROOF 

117HAT need, though years shall pass 
away, 

For any soul to yield to age, 
When coming with each brand-new day 

Life's story shows a brand-new page, 
With brand-new things upon it writ, 

Revealing brand-new veins of truth 
To stir the mind and edge the wit, 

And fill the heart with zest of youth? 



July Seventeenth 



IN AND OUT 

"^l\7TTH ribbon, lace, and spat, and tie, 

Our outer Selves we beautify. 
We spend a lot of hours fair 
In fashioning fine things to wear 
The which shall make the Outer Us 
Splendiferous. 



And that's a right good thing to do, 
If only when we put it through 
We don't forget in outer pride 
To titivate a bit Inside, 
And make that hidden Inner Man 
As spick and span! 




July Eighteenth 



LIFE 

T IFE is a blooming rose 

Nurtured by Love's own fires, 
And all our little woes 

Are nothing but the briars. 



July Nineteenth 



THE THOUGHT-GARDEN 

A THOUGHT is but a Seed deep in the 
^ Mind 

That, if you cultivate it, you will find 
Will bloom in some achievement, ill or glad, 
According as the Seed is good or bad. 
A Thought of Joy will fill your day with 

Peace, 
And give your Soul from darkness quick 

release; 
A Thought of Meanness, or of Evil Deeds, 
Will fill your inner Garden full of Weeds, 
And choke the Bloom that might be blos- 
soming 
Like fragrant bowers in the early spring. 



July Twentieth 



THE CALL 

(~\F all the sins that I detest 
^^ In this old whirling world of hurry, 
Most useless in Pandora's chest 
That held so many a noxious pest, 
I deem the very worst is Worry. 

It never cures and often kills; 

Of Ruin 'tis the own twin-brother; 
It sears the soul, the heart it chills, 
Destroys our hopes and fattens ills, 

More certainly than any other. 

Wherefore, I issue unto all 

My Brothers in these days of flurry, 
Who rest beneath its deadly pall 
With heart and soul the clarion call — 

Long live Good Cheer, and down with 
Worry ! 
July Twenty-first 



THE OPEN ROAD 

r^OR neighbors birds and busy humming 
A bees; 

For roof the starry sky and leafy trees; 
For bed the soft, sweet slope of grassy 

sheen 
Or some refreshing spread of piney green; 
For cup of wine the stimulating cheer 
Of laughing mountain waters, crystal clear; 
For book those rarest tales of joyous love 
The breezes through the woodlands whisper 

of; 
For company the stars, and for my task 
Some daily labor, great or small, I ask 
Whereby my debt in thanks I may repay 
For all these blessings of the Open Way! 

July Twenty-second 



THE WORLD 

T^ESPITE its sorrow and its pain I rather 

like the world we dwell in, 
And hope some day to come again its scenes 

to pass another spell in. 
I like its shape, I like its air; I like its 

pleasures and its labors. 
I like its people everywhere — my friends, 

my enemies and neighbors. 
I like the scheme of Age and Youth. I 

like such words as Sister, Brother, 
As Love, and Honor, Wisdom, Truth, and 

Faith, and Father, Friend, and Mother. 
I like its Rivers, Hills, and Dales; I like 

the broad sweep of the Ocean. 
I like its Light that never fails, its lovely 

seasons e'er in motion. 

July Twenty-third 



I like the plan of Night and Day — its 

coloring I deem exquisite, 
And after I have passed away I'd like to 

make another visit. 



July Twenty-third 



EXTERNALS 

VIT'HEN ills beset me and my face 
Begins of Age to show a trace, 
And my bent form once lithe and bold 
Gives signs that it is growing old; 
When here and there a line appears 
On cheek and brow to prove my years, 
I do not sigh to find them there, 
Grim tokens of life's wear and tear, 
For deep within there dwells in truth 
The spirit of abiding youth, 
And in my soul lurks ne'er a doubt 
'Tis but the case that's wearing out. 



July Twenty -fourth 




THE BUILDER 

IN childish mood I like to pla^ 

That I am building my own earth, 
And some new corner every day 

I fashion out of joy and mirth. 
A little nook to sing in here, 

A little spot to laugh in there, 
And over all a sky of cheer 

To lift the shadow of all care. 






July Twenty-fifth 






SELF-APPROVAL 

"DOOR mortal vain! He thought himself 
A just right. 

In self-approval sat both day and night; 
And this strange circumstance soon came 

to be: 
That everybody round him grew, but he 
Stood stagnant there in body, soul, and 

mind, 
And in the onrush lagged so far behind 
That when he reached the place where bays 

are weft 
He asked for his and not a wreath was left! 



July Twenty-sixth 



THE QUESTION 

VITBEN folks dilate on Ancestry 
* And boast a chain of fine forebears 

That stretches back beyond B. C, 

I envy not that line of theirs, 
But look that chain so noble o'er 

And ask those wights of blood so blue 
In all their pride in things of yore — 

"What sort of Link in this are you? 9 * 



July Twenty-seventh 



LOOK UP ! 

T OOK up, my friend, not down! 

Why gaze upon the mire 
When up above a starry crown 

Of pure celestial fire 
Lies waiting for our eyes to see, 
And for our souls to win if we 

So ardently desire 
That every step's an upward flight 
Toward the sources of the light? 



July Twenty-eighth 




AS TO QUESTIONS 

VITHEN it comes down to questions 
* strange by which our minds are 

tasked 
I never bother over 
those that 

No 

One's 

Ever 

Asked ! 





July Twenty-ninth 



IMPERISHABLE 

THE thing you love may pass away, 

Yet loss will still be gain 
If in your faithful heart for aye 
The love itself remain. 



July Thirtieth 



WILLING TARGETS 



T OVE'S archery is excellent, 

No matter where his bow is bent. 



His arrows speed through light and dark 
And seldom fail to hit the mark. 

I wonder if the reason's not 
We're all so willing to be shot? 



July Thirty-first 



AUGUST 

"M'OW cometh August with her brood 
Of joyous things in gracious 

mood — 
The smiling skies, the laughing streams, 
And from the sun the dancing beams 
Of golden light that seem to play 
Like pranksome elves along our way; 
And leafy lanes in shimmer drest 
Inviting weary souls to rest; 
And trees that spread their welcome 

shade 
O'er hill and dale, and forest glade; 
And silken breezes come to do 
The service God hath put them to; 
And happy birds at twilight nigh 
To sing some dreamy lullaby, 
August First 



Or at the dawn to tell us of 
Another coming day of Love — 
Ah! who can fail to find thee dear, 
Most gracious daughter of the year? 



August First 



A LIBRARY OF DAYS 

T'D like to bind all pleasant days 
And keep them in my library, 
That when I come on sorrow's ways 

I may get at them handily; 
And as I open up some book 

That's eased some bit of passing pain, 
So on their pages I may look 

As tho' I lived them o'er again. 



August Second 



RATIONS 

T LIKE the way old Nature serves her 

rations day by day 
That all of us can count upon, so promptly 

doth she pay — 
A meed of light at early dawn, and plenteous 

stores of air, 
And miles of blue sky overhead to cheer 

away our care. 

She gives us soft refreshing rains to cleanse 

the atmosphere, 
And breezes singing music that enchants 

the weary ear; 
She feeds our souls with vistas fine, and, 

best of all, she dowers 
Each day we live in gifts of time in four- 

and-twenty hours. 

August Third 



AS TO NIGHTMARES 

T HAD a Nightmare t'other night, 

A vision fierce and gory, 
But 'stead of cowering with fright 
I seized her mane, and, holding tight, 
I rode the beast from dark to light, 

To honor and to glory — 
A rather pleasant way I find 
To handle creatures of her kind, 
No matter if they come my way 
In dead of night or light of day. 



August Fourth 



BROTHERS ALL 

A PLEASANT word to everybody— 
"^ The rich, the poor, the real, the 

shoddy — 
Somehow it does me good to greet 
Whatever folks I chance to meet. 
And tell 'em "howdy" just as though 
They all were people that I know; 
And wish 'em well upon the way, 
And hope they'll have a pleasant day. 
God made 'em all, and so you see 
I guess they're good enough for me. 



August Fifth 



A SHORT CUT 

A PLEASANT road to clearer skies 
"^ When things go wrong is to surmise 

How bright and gay 

'Twould be if they 
Would only run contrariwise, 
As they will do, as sure as fate, 
Full soon if we in patience wait. 



August Sixth 



WORTH WHILE 

\\7TNNING, and sharing your gain; 
Grinning, and bearing your pain; 
Loving your friends and your foes forgiving 
Make any kind of a life worth living. 



August Seventh 



A PARALLEL 

"ll/HO lets a passing bit of woe destroy 
* " The wonder of a world replete with 
joy 
Is no more wise than he who would deny 
The smiling glory of the summer sky 
Because he'd got a cinder in his eye. 



August Eighth 



ODDS AND ENDS 

T^HE Odds and Ends that make up life 
A Are mixtures strange of peace and strife 

In oft-amazing blends. 
The issues? These are with the Gods, 
But he who fears to take the Odds 

Is like to lose the Ends. 




August Ninth 



DEMAND AND SUPPLY 

llfHATEVER woes may chance to be 
You'll get no groans or frowns from 
me, 
For groans and frowns are sorry stuff 
Of which already there's enough 
And it were foolishness to try 
To sell an over-large supply, 

And turn one's hand 
To making things with no demand. 



August Tenth 



THE FAULT 

\z\7E blame the world for this and that, 

In angry speech and lurid print, 
But let me tell you plain and flat 
The fault is with the people in't. 

If we who think we run the same 

Would do our part with smiling grace, 

We'd find the poor old world we blame 
A fine and dandy sort of place. 



August Eleventh 



ETERNAL YOUTH 

QUTSIDE I'm seeming old. My locks 
^^^ are gray. 

The one-time springy step is gone for aye, 
And wrinkles chart my cheek and brow to 

show 
The paths I've trod in joy supreme and woe. 

But deep within, down in the heart of me, 
Where none but I alone the truth can see, 
No hint of Age appears upon the scroll 
That holds the written record of my soul. 

In spirit, thanks to Cheer, as ever young, 
My heart holds songs as sweet as ever sung, 
And to the future still I look with zest 
As to the coming of some welcome guest. 
August Twelfth 





FORTUNE 

?r PIS said that Fortune's but a fickle jade 
Who plays with man like some flirta- 
tious maid, 
Holds back her favors, and her smile denies 
Despite the invitation in her eyes. 





Believe it not! TV indictment is not true, 
For Fortune's just a woman thro' and thro', 
Who, knowing well her favors to be good, 
Insists that to be won they must be wooed. 



August Thirteenth 



LOCKED IN 

TF you must hoard your woes and fret 

■* About tLeir vast accumulation, 
Let them in some steel vault be set 
With key-proof lock, and then forget 
The combination. 



August Fourteenth 



MIST 

COMETIMES the heavy mists arise 

To dim the luster of the skies, 
But when they pass I find the blue 
Above me still remaineth true. 

So is it with my faith. I find 
The mists of doubt flit thro' my mind, 
And for a moment brief obscure 
The beauty of belief secure. 

But as the mists from out the sea 
Before the golden sunlight flee, 
So passeth doubt — a spectral wraith 
Before the sure light of my faith. 



August Fifteenth 



A FOOLISH PLAINT 

"HTIME is dragging?" Heavens, man 
Let Time drag as best he can — 
Lengthen out the minutes till 
Each an hour seems to fill. 
Let each hour drag away 
Till it seems a good full day. 
"So much to be done to win! 
So few days to do it in!" 
Raise no plaint if Time shall lag. 
Let the sluggish seconds drag 
If they help us to put through 
Tasks that we are here to do! 



August Sixteenth 







GOOD-WILL 



rpOR every babe that's born to-day 
A Let's wish a golden sunlit way 
From racking care and sorrow free 
Thro' all the days that are to be. 



■.& 



And for the souls by grief beset 
To ease the pressure of regret 
Stretch out the hand of friendliness 
As tho' we knew of their distress. 



Who keeps a stock of right Good- Will 
On hand for all, in joy or ill, 
Whate'er the drafts upon his store 
With every spending winneth more. 



August Seventeenth 








YIELD NOT 

X/'IELD not yourself to grief, my friend, 
Because some joy has reached its end, 
For though your sorrow's deep and sore 
For things now gone to come no more, 
Tis better rather to be glad, 
In thinking on the joy you've had, 
Nor mar with the excess of tears 
The pure bliss of the yesteryears. 



August Eighteenth 



VAULTING AMBITION 

TV/fY ambition's on a flier, 

Gettin' ever higher, higher. 
Once I thought it would be fun 
Bern' like G. Washington. 
Then I felt a sort o' pant 
Jest to ekal Gen'l Grant. 
Then I thought it would be fine 
Comin' further down the line, 
To be great and popular 
Like our Six Best Sellers are. 
But to-day I tell ye flat, 
I'm aspirin' higher'n that, 
And my efforts all is given 
To surpass — the cost o' livin'! 



August Nineteenth 





SAILING 



I'M sailing on— I'm sailing on 
To harbors strange that wait anon. 
Just where they are or what their kind 
Is somewhat misty to my mind; 
But I am sure whate'er they be 
They'll prove of interest to me, 
And I'll be glad 
That I have had 
My turn upon the sea! 



August Twentieth 




/J 




IDLE 



p)OOR man, who doubts a future state, 

And can't imagine Death a gate 
To something better farther on 
To which the soul may come anon! 

One might as well a candle be 
To burn and sputter greasily 
And in the end, for all its stress, 
Just gutter into Nothingness. 





August Twenty-first 




JOY O' LIVING 

I'VE no plaint if it be cold, 

I've no plaint if it be warm. 
I'm content if I behold 
Weather fair or raging storm. 

Dark or sunny matters not. 

All's the same indeed to me — 
Arctic breeze, or sizzling hot — 

Long as I'm alive to see. 



August Twenty -second 



REACTIONS OF RHYME 

I LIKE to think my thoughts in rhyme 

Because I find that half the time 
A rhyme for sorry things that curse 
Will set my mind on its reverse. 
Thus "fear" and "drear" and "sneer" 

and "tear" 
Each sends my thinking off to "cheer"; 
And when there's something to annoy, 
The rhyme that follows on is "joy" — 
And old man Trouble 
Nine times in ten's allied to "bubble." 
So that my worries rhyme with things 
That give my weary spirit wings 
And set me singing like the lark 
Who sees the morn emerge from dark. 

August Twenty-third 







FT* 



AS TO CLAY 

TF I'm but clay, 

As some do say 
All were when life began, 

I'll still be game 

And mold the same 
According to some plan, 

And see if I 

Can't by and by 
By some ingenious trick 

So fashion me 

That I shall be 
At least a first-class brick. 







August Twenty-fourth 





DEATHLESS 

T CANNOT find that death upon this 

* sphere 

Does more than close a bit of travel here, 

But rather sends the traveler on his way 

To higher roads to labor as he may 

In further pilgrimages to some goal 

For which while here he has prepared his 

soul. 
Wherefore my friends who've vanished from 

my sight, 
And left me plodding still from vale to 

height, 
Have merely gone ahead, not dead to me, 
But closer drawn to realms of victory. 



August Twenty-fifth 



■& X, 






A DIVISION 

TF with some king I could divide 

A portion of his treasure, 
I would not seek to share his pride, 

Nor any of his pleasure, 
Nor any of the gold we find 

In many a monarch's dower, 
If but for Service for my Kind 

He'd give me half his power. 



August Twenty-sixth 



WEATHER-PROOF 

Y^THO cares what sort the weather be 
" If only he the truth can see 
That weathers all, or wet or dry, 
If sun or cloud rule o'er the sky, 
Each kind is good in its own way, 
And neither makes nor mars the day 
Of him who in the warp and woof 
Of his own soul is weather-proof! 



August Twenty-seventh 





9 



m 



YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND 
TO-MORROW 

TVfY Yesterdays I dearly prize 

Because they hold my Memories. 
To-day is dear unto my eyes 

For present Opportunities. 
To-morrow? All fulfilment lies 

Upon To-morrow's knees. 

Rich gifts of Time! O treasures three— 
What Has Been, Is, and Is To Be — 
Each one is passing dear to me! 



August Twenty-eighth 








-a 








MOLDING 



pERHAPS when Fate hath hacked at 
you 

And battered you about, 
And with such buffets whacked at you 

She's nearly knocked you out, 
You'll find some comfort in the thought 

That when she seems most cruel 
Out of your sufferings she's wrought 

A mighty precious jewel! 







August Twenty-ninth 







THE BEE 

T DO not love the buzzing Bee because he 

keeps so busy. 
I grant his vast activity doth fairly make 

me dizzy. 
What I like best about him is that while 

his work pursuing 
He seems to find such perfect bliss in doing 

what he's doing. 
He does the thing he has to do with truly 

joyous vigor, 
And dances clover-pastures through just like 

a happy jigger. 
And that's the way I like to see a chap 

take up his labor, 
And that is why I deem the Bee a mighty 

worthy neighbor! 

August Thirtieth 



SUMMER PASSES 

"/^OOD-BY Summer'"s not the tune 
^* Sounding in my heart to-day, 

For from now back unto June 
Summer's with me, here to stay, 
Every minute of its glory in my spirit 
stored away. 

What I've had in things of peace 

Deep within my soul I hold, 
With a joy that cannot cease, 

Purer, richer far than gold 

And the summer with its treasure is a 
treasure yet untold. 

So the word is not "Good-by," 
As to seasons dead for aye, 

August Thirty-first 





And no tears suffuse mine eye 
For a summer gone astray, 
But with joy a gift completed in my 
heart I store away. 







August Thirty-first 




SEPTEMBER FIRST 

T^ALL or summer — which I pray 

Is this first September day? 
On the calendar they call 
It the harbinger of fall, 
But somehow its silky air 
Seems to have a summer flair, 
And its smile still speaks to me 
Of the geniality, 
And the color and the pride, 
Of the pleasant summertide; 
And its morning hours ring 
With the voices of the spring — 



Well, no matter what you are 
On or off the calendar, 

September First 



You are grateful to my sight 
For your wealth of golden light, 
And the riches scattered wide 
O'er the lovely countryside, 
Reminiscent echoes of 
Other days of Hope and Love. 






September First 



SWIM OUT 

T WAIT no ship 

With prospects dim. 
But thro* the drip 
My way I swim. 

To win myself 

The prizes high 
In fame or pelf 

That yonder lie; 

And tho' my goal 
Too far may be, 

It thrills my soul 
To breast the sea! 



September Second 



THE DOCTOR 

VI7HEN with stress your eyes are blinking 
And with fear your heart is shrinking, 
Call in Doctor Cheerful Thinking. 

He's the head of his profession, 
Leader of the whole procession, 
Curing trouble and depression. 

Gives you medicines beguiling — 
Hope and Faith on Courage piling, 
Mixed with Sympathetic Smiling. 

Tonic Thoughts and Sunny Notions, 
Pills of Fancy, Mirthful Potions, 
Soothing all the Soul's commotions — 

Good old Doctor Cheerful Thinking! 
He's the chap when Hearts are sinking, 
And with tears your eyes are blinking. 
September Third 



SUSPICIOUS 

VyHENE'ER by some sad chance I find 

A man of pessimistic mind 
Who sneers and jeers at all his kind, 
I have a feeling somewhat grim 
That if his faith in man is dim 
There's something wrong inside with him — 
A fact so clearly evident 
I wouldn't lend the chap a cent. 



September Fourth 



GHOSTS 

T SURELY do believe in ghosts 

Because they visit me in hosts — 
Dear Specters of the days gone by 
Rise clearly up before mine eye 
With many a pleasant memory 
Of golden hours that used to be; 
And no less welcome ghosts of days 
That lie along our future ways — 
Visions of Hope that lead me on 
To unknown joys that wait anon. 



September Fifth 



THE RIVER 

T IFE'S like a river broad to me 

That flows forever toward the sea, 
Now calm as any tranquil sky 
That ever gladdened mortal eye, 
And now a rushing torrent full 
Of dangers dark and terrible; 
Yet through the stress of troublous ways, 
As through the peace of joyous days, 
Forever on its waters roll 
Straight to the everlasting goal — 
As you and I, our journey run, 
Will come at last into our own. 



September Sixth 



THE PHCENIX 

HHHE Phoenix was a mystic bird 
A Who out of ashes rose, 
And with a spirit undeterred 
Up toward the skies poked his absurd 
But mighty plucky nose. 

His looks were never good to me, 

He was so very plain, 
And yet I love him for that he 
Rose up so strong and valiantly 

To victory from pain. 



September Seventh 



A SUGGESTION 

T^HE Landsman pities those at sea 
A When gales are roaring noisily, 
And tempests rage like beasts of prey 
Along the spumy ocean way. 
The Sailor pities those ashore 
Whene'er he hears the squally roar 
That sweeps along the countryside 
And levels trees of lofty pride. 
Wherefore I deem it proper to 
Assume in storms that this is true: 
On solid land or ships at sea 
We're best off where we chance to be. 




September Eighth 



MY LOVES 

I LOVE the land, I love the sea, 
* I love the flowers and the tree, 
I love the fountain-head of light, 
The moon, and little stars at night. 
I love the deep blue of the sky, 
The songs of warblers flying by. 
I love the rivers and the rills, 
The valleys deep and lofty hills. 
But most I love with heart and mind 
The loving kindness of my kind. 



September Ninth 



AS TO CERTAIN DOSES 

T AM not fond of bitter pills, 
1 I have no love at all for squills, 
But there be times, I must agree, 
When both are mighty good for me. 
And so when some mischance turns up 
That brews for me a bitter cup 
I drain it for the likelihood 
That somehow it will do me good. 



September Tenth 



THE WISE SPENDTHRIFT 

T^OR Time and Health I have such taste 

That neither shall I ever waste, 
But Love hath such a vast supply, 
All ready-made and standing by, 
That I shall scatter it as though 
I were a Spendthrift, for I know 
E'en though 'tis squandered recklessly 
'Twill every bit come back to me. 






September Eleventh 



THE INGREDIENTS 

CINCE Heaven is the Home of Grace, 
^ Good-Will, and Faith, and loving Cheer, 
Who holds to these with smiling face 
Is like to find his Heaven here! 







September Twelfth 



THE WINNER 

T LOVE to see a youth all undismayed 

Who looks upon the future unafraid, 
Who thinks upon the earth as just a ball 
For catching which he hears a certain call, 
As if the making of a splendid name 
Were, after all, a pleasant sort of game 
That he's been sent to play, and eager stands 
With feet firm set, and ready, outstretched 

hands 
To play his part, unmoved by raucous din 
Of jeering Fate — he's in the mood to win! 



September Thirteenth 



THE SAILOR 

T RATHER like the Sailor's ways, 

And pay them proper heed. 
On adverse winds his tricks he piays, 
And makes them serve his need! 

He sets by chart the course he sails, 
And toward what Port he gees 

In weather clear, or howling gales, 
The Sailor always knows! 

He keeps his eye on things on high, 

On raging seas or flat, 
And every day that passes by 

He finds out where he's "at"! 



September Fourteenth 





THE JOY OF BEING 

1\7HAT kind of pippin I shall be 

The Fates have not made known to 
me, 
But I can tell you, anyhow, 
'Tis nice to dangle from the bough. 





September Fifteenth 





A KINDLY word and cheery way 
^ Will brighten up the darkest day. 
A pleasant smile in hours of pain 
Will give to loss a touch of gain. 
A gleam of honest sympathy 
Will light the path of misery, 
And of them all there isn't any 
That costs the giver half a penny. 



September Sixteenth 






,:- ? 







THE STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT 

TV/TY life I measure not in numbered days, 
How many score of years my path 
I've run, 
But on the sunlit heights or humbler ways 
How much of love I've won. 



September Seventeenth 



MOTORS 

VT'OU know the Model of your Car. 

You know just what its powers are. 
You treat it with a deal of care, 
Nor tax it more than it will bear. 

But as to self — that's different. 
Your mechanism may be bent, 
Your carbureter gone to grass, 
Your engine just a rusty mass. 

Your wheels may wabble and your cogs 
Be handed over to the dogs, 
And on you skip, and skid, and slide, 
Without a thought of things inside. 

What fools indeed we mortals are 
To lavish care upon a Car, 
With ne'er a bit of time to see 
About our own machinery! 

September Eighteenth 




A PLEASANT NOTION 




"LJE was an ancient sort of wight, 

But happy as a piper. 
I asked the cause of his delight. 
"I've found that years have no affright, 
I am not aging day and night," 
Quoth he, "But getting riper" 



September Nineteenth 



m /f 




SOUL-SCULPTURE 

TF from some bit of marble cold, 

Rough and forbidding to behold, 
The Sculptor with his skill can trace 
A form of beauty and of grace, 
Who shall despair from human clay 
In seeming ruin and decay 
To mold a form in which shall be 
The semblance of Divinity? 



September Twentieth 








OVERLOOKED 

PHILOSOPHERS in marvelous array 
Have written books of proverbs very 
full. 
I wonder none of them has ever paused to 
say: 
An Ounce of Push is worth a Ton of Pull ! 



September Twenty-first 



TOLERANCE 

T^HE Raven's croak is harsh and flat, 
But maybe 'tis his song at that, 
And if he thinks his croak a song 
And sounds it bravely all day long, 
Alcho' we know his voice is "broke," 
Let's let the poor old fellow croak, 
And in his own way ease his woes 
With such poor music as he knows. 



September Twenty-second 




KNOTS 




I" IFE is a tangled sort of skein. 

Some of the Knots are full of pain, 
But all the same there's lots of fun 
When each day's work at last is done, 
To put our stock of cares aside 
And see how many we've untied. 



September Twenty-third 




AS TO ENEMIES 

/^\NE thing about an Enemy 
^^ At least is wholly gain — 
With empty bits of flattery 

He does not make us vain; 
And maybe thro' his subtle flings 

Sharp as a serpent's tooth 
We'll get a line on sundry things 

Not far removed from truth. 



September Twenty-fourth 



Ft 



GOOD SAILING 

I_JOLD your friend-ships, they're the 

171 fleet 

Bound for Harbors fair and sweet. 

Hurricane or howling gale, 

If they're stanch they never fail, 

And there's joy whate'er the weather, 

Sailing on and on together. 



September Twenty-fifth 



A DREAM? 

A PLEASANT dream in days of yore 
"^ Sometimes comes back in days of 

doubt — 
I thought the Sun was Heaven's door, 

The Light God's glory streaming out, 
And Stars the windows thro' which He 
By night kept vigil over me. 

"A childish dream indeed?" say you. 
Who knows? Perhaps it may be true! 



September Twenty-sixth 



FOOLS AND SAGES 




OOME sages wise look down on folly, 
And view the fool with melancholy, 
But as for me, the foolishness 
Of fools fills me with no distress, 
For if we had no fools at all 
The wise would find but little call 
For all the wisdom they dig out 
To put the foolish ones to rout, 
And it would raise the very hob 
If all the wise men lost their job. 



September Twenty-seventh 








vw 






" 



WHAT'S YOUR HURRY? 

'IITHAT'S your hurry, Mister Man? 

Slow down somewhat if you can. 
Life's no sprint by swiftness won, 
But a lengthy Marathon, 
And the prizes of the race 
Go to him of steady pace 
With the long and sturdy stride 
O'er life's gleaming countryside. 
Stop your hurry! Heed this rhyme! 
You'll be old before your time, 
Using up your strength and powers 
Pushing on the worried hours, 
And tho' prizes may be had 
Thro' this pace so swiftly mad, 
What's the use of prizes won 
With the zest for laurels gone? 

September Twenty-eighth 



32 w« %\»« 



TELLING TIME 

HTHE time of day I do not tell 

As some do by the clock, 
Or by the distant chiming bell 

Set on some steepled rock, 
But by the progress that I see 

In what I have to do. 
It's either Done o'Clock for me, 

Or only Half -past Through. 



September Twenty-ninth 



ALL THE SAME 

TF high your place it's in your gift 
To give some other chap a lift; 
Or, if you've but a lowly roost, 
From lower levels you can boost, 
And be as useful to your race 
As anybody round the place. 
To lift or boost, it's all the same 
If you will only play your game. 



September Thirtieth 



OCTOBER 




OOOL and crisp the morning air, 
^ Wondrous pictures everywhere. 
Gorgeous hues on leafy tree, 
Blue and gold on sky and sea, 
Sense of strength in mind and soul, 
Vision clear to every goal, 
Not a task that looms in view 
Greater than Resolve can do — 
Blest October, month divine, 
Take this tribute small of mine 
For the meed of Hope you bring 
For the Autumn's harvesting. 



October First 




£&£•¥ 




THE HUNTSMAN 

TV/JY game-bag I would fill 

With spoil man cannot kill — 
The tender memory 
Of joys that used to be; 
The loveliness of skies 
Entrancing to the eyes; 
The music of the trees 
So thrilled with harmonies; 
The secrets of the wood 
By man scarce understood; 
And when the Hunter's Moon 
Lures me through dale and dune 
To seek the Hunter's share 
Of prizes lurking there, 

October Second 



Tis not to kill I go, 
But to enjoy the glow 
Of game-bags all athrill 
With things man cannot kill. 






October Second 



', Jm 



HAPPINESS 

-pNOUGH to feed 

One's daily need, 
With something more 
Always in store 
For others' stress — 
Methinks, my friend, that's Happiness! 



October Third 



THE ROAD 

1K7HAT is the Road to Cheer 
V Y Over the Hills of Fear? 
Thinking the floral way. 
Dreaming of meadows gay. 
Speaking the thoughts that rise 
Out of the blue of skies. 
Smiling your way along, 
Steady in face of Wrong. 
Dwelling upon the good. 
Walking in Brotherhood — 
That is the Road to Cheer 
Over the Hills of Fear! 



October Fourth 



GOOD COMPANY 

"\\7HY should you mope and groan 

Because you are alone, 
When each star in the blue 
Is twinkling down on you, 
And rays of light all day 
Around about you play, 
And in their hide and seek 
The breezes kiss your cheek, 
And every flower you see 
Nods at you cheerily? 



October Fifth 



GREETINGS 

/GREETINGS, Friend upon the way, 
^"* On this glad October day. 
May the freshness of the morn 
Drive away all thoughts forlorn. 
May the skies so deeply blue 
Smile protectingly on you, 
And the treasures of the light 
Guide you safely to the night 
And be with you till anon 
More light comes to speed you on. 



October Sixth 



FRUITION 

\17HAT I planted in the spring 

Shortly I'll be harvesting. 
If I planted weeds in May, 
Rue will be my lot to-day. 
But the little seeds of love 
While the June sun shone above 
I implanted in the soil, 
And have watched with patient toil 
Through the summertide, will flower 
In some rare autumnal hour 
In the grain of joy to feed 
Heart and soul through winter's need. 



October Seventh 




A ROBBERY 




A HIGHWAY robber pounced on me, 
"^ And stole from me my greatest 

treasure. 
He rifled me relentlessly, 

Yet left me rich beyond all measure. 

His name was Cupid — precious thief! — 
And 'twas my heart he ran away with, 

But left behind a golden sheaf 
Of Love to glorify my day with. 



October Eighth 



OAK OR ACORN 

T MAY not have a family tree 
From Adam A to Izzard Me, 
But maybe I can plant one now 
That later from some leafy bough 
Will sprout a bit of golden fruit 
Of which I am the stock and root, 
And gain the honorable pelf 
They grant to ancestors myself — 
The Oak with what is past is gray, 
The Acorn holds the future day! 



October Ninth 



TESTED 

I'VE met some wights upon the way 
1 Who've never yet been tempted, 
Who seem to think they have the bay 

Of virtue all pre-empted — 
Fine folks indeed, but, after all, 

Whene'er I chance to find them 
I see much good in men whose fall 

Has placed their sins behind them. 



October Tenth 



MY STAR 

T HAVE a Star up in the heavens high 
Which I'm content to reach but with 

mine eye. 
I have no wish to climb to it and there 
Find rest from earthly trouble and from 

care. 
I simply wish to keep it as a thing 
To grow toward, and, when I feel the sting 
Of some dark bit of misery and rue, 
To know 'tis there for me to look up to. 



October Eleventh 



THE BLIND MAN 

V\7H0 thinks of life in terms alone of woe, 
* " Forgetful of its joys and days that 

glow, 
Is like the man who thinks of busy bees 
As noisy things that sting, and never sees 
The stores of honey that their industry 
Builds up to sweeten things for you and me. 
He sees the thorn and overlooks the rose, 
Forgets his friends and contemplates his 

foes, 
And, 'spite the beauty of the summer skies 
O'erlooks the birds and growls about the 

flies. 



October Twelfth 



ALTERNATIONS 

T IGHT and shadow— that is life! 
Joy and pain and love and strife. 
Up to-day and down to-morrow — 
Some of laughter, some of sorrow; 
Peace and war and war and peace — 
To all things Time brings release. 
Whate'er comes we all must share it; 
Wherefore, let us grin and bear it, 
Waiting, when our woes annoy, 
For the alternating joy. 



October Thirteenth 



THE BEST AVAILABLE 

TH 0-DAY may not be all you wish, 

To work, to laugh, to play, to fish. 
It may not be of trials free 
As you would like your day to be. 
It may be overcast with storm. 
It may be somewhat overwarm — 
But dark or light, or chill or hot, 
It's quite the best to-day you've got, 
And you'll do well to use your wit 
To get what good you can from it. 



October Fourteenth 



THE PAINTER 

TACK FROST came roving by last night 
*^ And dressed the fields in filmy white, 
And left a silver etching plain 
Upon my gleaming window-pane. 
But more than that, with merry wink 
He splashed my pallid cheek with pink, 
And painted all the smiling land 
With colors of a Master hand! 



October Fifteenth 



THE REAL GENIUS 

T^HE man who first invented sleep 
Won laurels of a deserving kind, 
The which I trust he'll ever keep 

To please his fine inventive mind. 
But if you'd ask of me to state 

To whom I'd give the fairest cup 
I'd say it was that genius great 

Who first invented waking up! 



October Sixteenth 



THE OLD THINGS 

TF it were by some mischance true 

That 'neath the sun there's nothing new, 
I'm sure I'd find a lot of cheer 
In all the old things left us here — 
The wisdom of the ancient sage, 
The stories of each bygone age, 
The chivalry of men of old 
When knights were daring, brave, and bold; 
In ancient cities, ancient hills; 
In storied rivers, rocks, and rills ;- — 
Indeed, so much of joy I find 
In things of really ancient kind 
That in my heart 'twere small ado 

If it were true 
That 'neath the sun there's nothing new! 

October Seventeenth 




fl7 



A USEFUL WHIM 

^HE only care 
1 That I shall share 
Shall be the care of others, 

And on the road 

I'll halve the load 
Of overburdened brothers. 

I rather guess 

It's selfishness 
That drives me to such actions, 

For in this plan 

I find I can 
Forget my own distractions. 




WAITING 

COME day, somehow, somewhere, 

The hours will be fair, 
And for the good we've done 
The prizes will be won. 
The waiting may be long, 
But if 'tis filled with song 
And smiling cheer 'twill seem 
But as a passing dream, 
Whence, waking, we shall see 
Sweeter reality. 



October Nineteenth 



FRIEND AND ENEMY 

T HOLD that man mine enemy who'd fill 
My heart with mistrust of my fellow- 
men; 
Who to the cause of envy and of ill 

Devotes the powers of his tongue and pen ; 
But he's my friend who strengthens my be- 
lief 
In all the goodness that surrounds us here, 
And helps me on to gather up the sheaf 
And fruitage of life's harvestings of cheer. 



October Twentieth 



Y 



PRACTICE 

OU say you can't be cheerful, but you 



can: 



Just take a glance at yonder toiling man, 
That Carpenter who uses well the tool 
That makes him Master of his special school. 
He couldn't use the chisel and the saw, 
The hammer and the jackplane and the 

claw, 
Until through constant failure he became 
A Master in the uses of the same. 
So is it with this task of cheerfulness 
In moments full of worry and distress — 
The effort baffles all our stores of wit, 
But some day, if we only practice it, 
We'll find it growing easier until 
We handle cheer with all a Master's skill. 

October Twenty-first 



A RECEIPT 

A REAL good joke at breakfast, and a 
"^ hearty laugh at noon, 
And 'twixt your lunch and dinner-time 

some catchy little tune, 
And when the shades of nightfall shall ob- 
scure the smiling sun 
An hour or two of thinking on the good 

that men have done, 
And just before your bedtime just a little 

word of praise 
For all the beauty of the world for Him 

who molds our ways; 
And then a smiling "good night" ere to 

dreamland on we press 
Will make a day all golden in its perfect 

loveliness. 
October Twenty-second 




POISON 






IITHO'D quaff a cup of poison if he knew 
* * It held a deadly, soul-destroying brew, 
To paralyze his step, and in one hour 
Reduce to nothingness a span of power? 

No more shall I those poisons tolerate 
Which evil passions everywhere create — 
The whispers mean of scandal, and the sneer 
That makes me hold my fellow-man less 
dear. 



The hints that tongues of malice love to 

spread, 
In oozy swamps of hate and envy bred — 
Those poisons of the soul that wither trust 
And strive to lay life's beauty in the dust. 

October Twenty-third 



fr\ 




AN EPITAPH 

T SEEK no vain high-sounding epitaph 

In fulsome line and ponderous paragraph, 
But when the time at last shall come when I 
Have put the things of earth forever by, 
I hope some one will place upon the stone 
Whereby my final resting-place is known, 
The simple words to speak my gratitude — 
Here lies a grateful guest, who found 
life good. 



October Twenty-fourth 



THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE 

HHHE tongues of men are many, but the 

heart 
Hath little need of the linguistic art, 
For where there's human sympathy the Eye 
Hath potency no language can supply. 
It speaks its sense of love in terms so clear 
That e'en the deaf its messages can hear, 
And whether you be Roman, French, 

Chinese, 
A Briton, Slav, Egyptian, Singalese, 
Danish or Swede, a Spaniard or a Greek, 
Your eye that universal tongue can speak. 



October Twenty-fifth 






MY SONG 



, I1^HATEVER be the depth of woe 
* " Along the path that I must go, 

I'll sing my song — 
My song of joy for all the love 
That's lavished on us from above, 
And count no loss of treasure-trove 

When things go wrong. 
I'll sing the sunlight, and the bright 
Soft smiling stars that gem the night; 

For gifts of good 
That God hath spread along my way, 
The lilt of birds in tuneful play, 
The harvests full and flowers gay, 

The whole day long 

I'll sing my song 
Of gratitude! 
October Twenty-sixth 









A REFLECTION 

HPHE only things I'm envious of 

Are deeds of Service and of Love. 
The only things I truly hate 
Are devil's deeds of cynic fate. 
The only man that I would be 
Other than him the world calls Me 
Is that great soul of worthy pride 
I might have been had I but tried. 



October Twenty-seventh 







flU 



^ ■ \ 




THE GAMBLER 

"l/l/HEN speculative fevers lure 

Me into ventures insecure 
I turn and put my stakes upon 
How things will be in days anon, 
When everywhere we look we'll see 
Rich dividends in Cheer and Glee 
On stocks of Kindness and the good 
Of Peace, Good- Will, and Brotherhood; 
In shares of Joy I tap the wealth 
Of Love and Sympathy and Health — 
And never have I lost a cent 
In little fliers in Content. 



October Twenty-eighth 



THE GIFT OF TIME 

''PIME cannot pause to wait on us, 

Yet while he speeds along his way 
A gift of hours right glorious 

He grants afresh each passing day, 
And none's so poor in place or deed 
That Time forgets him and his need. 



October Twenty-ninth 





GOOD TRAINING 

Tj^AIR Nature may be somewhat dumb 
A As to the happy world to come, 

By troubles all unvext, 
But it will do no harm while here, 
Upon our present whirling sphere, 
To practise well the arts of cheer 

As training for the next. 



October Thirtieth 




*!. 



MktJ/J AIK 








AN IMPROVEMENT 



r 






N ancient days 
The broad highways 
Resounded to town-criers' cries. 
They cried and cried 
On every side, 
And with their crying rent the skies. 

It seems to me 

'Twould better be 
If every town a laugher had 

To fill the earth 

With sounds of mirth 
Where it to-day is oversad. 



October Thirty-first 




GLAD NOVEMBER 

/^OOD old month November is. 
^^ Full of pep, and whirr, and whizz. 
Something in the morning air 
Sort of dissipates your care; 
Makes you feel that you could spill 
All the hopes of Kaiser Bill, 
Csesar, and Napoleon, 
All of them rolled into one. 
Something in the glistening skies 
Lends its brilliance to your eyes, 
And you run your way along 
With a heart chock full of song — 
Best of all, its symbol, "Nov." 
Makes a bully rhyme for Love. 
Life seems truly worth the living 
In this month of our Thanksgiving. 

November First 




THE SMALL POTATO 

rpHE smallest 'tater in the hill 

In spite of that's a 'tater still, 
And has a 'tater's work to do, 
Mashed, Lyonnaise, or in a stew; 
And that's a thought I think to cheer 
The host of little fellows here 
And helps 'em do the best they can 
Each one to prove himself a man! 




November Second 




TRANSFERRED ROSES 

HTHE autumn chill may drive the rose 

To exile from the garden close, 
Yet are the roses far from dead — 
They bloom on human cheeks instead! 



November Third 



LANDS OF PROMISE 

CUNRISELAND is fair and sweet, 
^ Lending vigor to our feet, 
Offering gifts of light and cheer 
To the doughty cavalier. 

Sunsetland is soft and kind 
In the glowing golden west, 
Luring heart and soul and mind 
To the dreamy Vales of Rest. 



November Fourth 




THE EXPLORER 

T WENT exploring yesterday, 
■*■ Not in the Arctic Sea, 
Nor other places far away, 

But in the Soul of Me. 
And, oh! the things discovered there 

Not ever guessed before! 
Things possible to do and dare — 

A rich uncovered store. 
I found no marveled stretch of earth, 

But things of majesty — 
And full of splendor in its worth, 

The Man that I Might Be! 



November Fifth 






THE WHIMSICAL PHILOSOPHER 

"IITHILE Knowledge giveth wings, 

™ I'd hate to know all things, 
And live my life all through 
With nothing ever new 
That I could try to learn; 
And meet at every turn 
The same old facts that I 
Had known in years gone by, 
And Self become a gray 
Old Cyclopediay! 



November Sixth 




CO-OPERATION 

HPHE Universe and I must work together, 
However bleak or pleasant be the 
weather; 
And though it's rather large and I am 

small, 
That does not change the simple fact at all 
That in our own respective sphere and line 
It has its job and I likewise have mine; 
And long as it provides heat, air, and light, 
I'll do my stint with all my main and might. 



November Seventh 



MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT 

TV/f ORN is the time for stating creeds 
**■ A Which Noon shall prove with faithful 

deeds, 
That, when the sands of day are run 
And all their duties duly done, 
The Night may come with well-earned rest 
To clasp the weary to her breast, 
And up through Dreamland lead the way 
Into another fruitful day. 



November Eighth 




UNIMPAIRED 




T'M not as young as once I was some 

fifty years ago, 
My step is somewhat halting and my hair 

is white as snow; 
But deep down in the heart of me I find a 

stock of cheer 
As joyous and as full as in the days of 

yesteryear. 
Earth's just as lovely to my sight as when 

mine eyes were young, 
And music to my ear's as sweet as when 

songs first were sung; 
The skies as blue, the stars as bright, as 

e'er they were before, 
And Faith and Hope are stronger for the 

roads I've traveled o'er. 
November Ninth 









Kv 



TO THE UNKNOWN FRIEND 

"DECAUSE I've never seen you eye to eye, 

Because, unknown, we've passed each 

other by, 
Because our paths have never chanced to 

meet 
In country lane or busy city street, 
No reason is that you and I can't be 
Firm friends in full and living sympathy, 
If in the selfsame channels of the soul 
Our hearts together seek the selfsame goal. 
So, friend unknown, here's health and joy 

to you, 
And to the Friendship fair betwixt us two! 



November Tenth 



THORNS AND ROSES 

A THORN had I that pierced my side, 
"**■ A thorn whose hurt ran deep, whose 

pain 
Brought suffering to flesh and pride, 
And made my days seem dark and vain. 

Yet when its hurt ran deepest, then 
Amid the pressure of its woes 

Down in the hearts of fellow-men 
I sought and truly found — the rose! 

The rose of human sympathy, 
The rose of loving heed and care, 

And now whatever thorns there be 
I know the roses, too, are there. 

November Eleventh 



THE SCHOOL OF LIFE 

A CHAP I knew — he was no fool — 
"^ Rejoiced that he was thro' with school. 
And seemed perplexed because I said 
If that were true he must be dead. 
He did not know that every day 
We walk on our appointed way 
In joy or woe, in peace or strife, 
We're in the splendid School of Life, 
And learning fine things by the score 
We never even dreamed before, 
And what is more, despite our brass, 
We're only in the Infant Class! 



November Twelfth 



UP 

TTP in the morn to greet the day, 
^ Up to labor and up to play — 
Up with a heart all full of song — 
Just keep tjpping it all day long. 



November Thirteenth 



THE BETTER PLAN 

HHO be an Angel here 

Is very well, I guess, 
And many folks, 'tis clear, 
To that achievement press. 

But as for me, I deem 
It far a better plan, 

A more important scheme, 
To try to be a man. 

If I can be the kind 
Of man I really might, 

I've not a doubt I'll find 
My angelhood's all right. 



November Fourteevih 



MOTHER EARTH 

T^HE earth is old with countless years— 

She's old in joy and old in tears. 
None can compute the wondrous store 
Of hours that comprise the score, 
And yet for all of that she goes 
Through summer suns and winter snows 
As ardently and fresh and sweet 
As though no age had dogged her feet. 
Fruitful and smiling and serene 
She runs along all fresh and green, 
And gives us life, and gives us rest, 
And clasps us close unto her breast, 
And bids us manfulwise to win 
The precious gifts that lie within. 
Dear Mother Earth, for all thy good 
I think on thee in gratitude. 
November Fifteenth 









IMAGINARY TROUBLE 

/^H, the tolls that I have paid, 
^^ Tolls of worry and of care, 
Over bridges never made, 

Bridges dark that never were; 
Crossing streams unreal that lie 

In the gloom of unborn days, 
Streams ne'er seen by mortal eye 

Bordering untrodden ways. 
That's the poorest kind of Tax, 

Bearing useless loads of fear 
On already burdened backs 

At the present cost of cheer; 
Running up appalling bills 

Paid in worry and distress 
For imaginary ills — 

That were sheerest foolishness! 

November Sixteenth 



A REVERSIBLE HEART 

TN times of my adversity 

A heart of steel I'll hold 
To meet the things confronting me 
Undaunted and as valiantly 

As any warrior bold. 
But when some other in despair 
Comes begging and besieging there, 
May it be pliant to his stress 
And full of smiling tenderness, 
And loving heed and care! 



November Seventeenth 



HEAD AND HEART 

117HAT'S in my head my tongue may 
* * say. 

What's in my heart my eyes betray. 
When tongue and eyes do not agree 
And fail to stand in unity, 

The man who's wise 

Will trust the eyes! 



November Eighteenth 



IN DEFEAT 

1K7HEN by some evil tricked 
* " Your strength runs under par 
Just don't admit you're licked 
Until you really are; 
And even then 
Get up and fight again. 



November Nineteenth 



THE TRUER JOY 

/^OULD I return to Youth I would not try, 
^ Tho* fair indeed I hold the days now 

gone, 
For that would be a turning back, and I 
Hold fairer still the joy of going on. 



November Twentieth 



THE SYMBOL 




rpHE Hurdy-Gurdy Man to me 

Is symbol true of cheer, 
However flat his notes may be 

Unto the tutored ear; 
For day by day he grinds away 

The hours short or long — 
His work a bit of tuneful play, 

His daily grind a song. 



November Twenty-first 



OUT OF THE DEPTHS 

HPHE kingly pomp of Charlemagne 
Has gone, nor will return again. 

The lives of Martyrs on the Cross 
Spelled golden gain where all seemed loss. 

When woe hath claimed thee for her own 
And bound thee helpless to her throne, 

Yield not to envy of great kings 
Renowned for warlike conquerings — 

Their glory dies in one brief hour — 
Thy pain may make for lasting power. 



November Twenty-second 






THE DAILY HARVEST 

TV/fY friend of yesterday I keep, 
x A Mine enemy I cast away. 
All things of joy I fondly reap, 

To beckoning woe I answer Nay. 
No use to me are bygone cares. 

I hoard alone remembrance sweet, 
And with back turned unto the tares 

I start my day with garnered wheat. 



November Twenty-third 



THE JOY OF HOPING 

nPHROUGHOUT my days I've hoped for 

much 
I've not been able yet to touch; 
I've had ambitions truly high 
And found fulfilment passing by; 
And while I've seldom realized 
The goals that I've so dearly prized, 
I've found a deal of joyous pelf 
In Hope itself. 



November Twenty -fourth 



PUZZLES 

T LIKE to take the old mischance, 
The mind-disturbing circumstance, 
And treat it as a puzzle I 
Must solve before I pass it by. 
Hard riddles and deep rebuses 
Used in my childish days to please, 
And still I take a meed of joy 
In solving puzzles that annoy, 
And finding out the answer to 
Perplexities that rise in view — 
And, oh, the bliss, the sheer delight 
That comes when I've the answer right! 



November Twenty-fifth 



THANKSGIVING 

T^OR. all the glorious Sons of Earth 

With souls of purest golden worth, 
Who've rendered up their All that we 
May dwell secure in Liberty, 

Our thanks arise! 
For all the treasures of the heart 
Revealed amid the sting and smart 
Of strife and pain the world o'ercast, 
The Love, the Sympathy so vast, 

The Sacrifice; 
For willingness of Man to yield 
His life and happiness to shield 
The helpless from the brutal hand, 
And of all tyrants free the land, 

In hymns of praise 

November Twenty-sixth 



To Him who sits enthroned above, 
The God of Righteousness and Love, 
In measures swelling, glorious, 
Our glad Thanksgiving songs let us 
Our voices raise! 



November Twenty-sixth 



ACTION 

"QREAMING things, 
Scheming things, 
Setting things a-going; 

Planning things, 

Spanning things, 
Plowing things and sowing, 

Brewing things, 

Doing things, 
Taking things and giving — 

That's the way 

To make the day 
Truly worth the living. 



November Twenty-seventh 



A PREFERENCE 

nnO write a great romance, I'm sure, 

Would give me happiness secure, 
And fill my soul with pride that I 
Had reached at last a goal so high. 
And yet when thinking love tales o'er, 
With all their golden, blissful store, 
No matter how their joys delight one, 
I'd truly rather live than write one. 



November Twenty-eighth 



THE WISDOM OF THE MOTH 

'HPIS said the Moth the Star desires, 

And yet I note the scamp, 
Despite ambition's inner fires, 

Takes pleasure in the lamp; 
And doing thus, it seems to me, 

Gives us suggestions wise, 
To rest content with earth if we 

Can't hope to win the skies. 



November Twenty-ninth 



THE THING THAT COUNTS 

"\K7HY vex your mind with worry sore 
* * On what to-morrow holds in store? 
If it be joy or dull regret, 
Remember well — it is not yet. 

Why worry over yesterday 
And all its stock of trials gray? 
Whate'er the burden of its pain, 
'Tis gone — and can't return again. 

Think on To-day — the present hour — 
If it be sunny, sweet or dour. 
The thing that really counts is how 
We meet the everlasting Now! 



November Thirtieth 



THE ICY ROAD 

/^)LD graybeard Winter cometh forth 
^^ Backed by his hosts from out the North 

To subjugate the earth. 
O'er all his icy pall is cast — 
His Arctic legions flying past 
With bitter sleet and chilling blast 

Have routed Autumn's mirth. 

And yet, for all his work so grim, 
Faith, Hope, and Love are waiting him 

Not far along the way, 
And all his grievous deeds of rue 
Will fade like mists from mortal view 
As on and up they lead us to 

The joys of Christmas Day. 

December First 



MIRRORS 

A MIRROR for the face is well, 
"^ And truths of worth its verdicts tell. 
How fine 'twould be if we could find 
Another for the heart and mind 
That it might tell us in our pride 
If things are right or wrong — inside. 



December Second 




THE HUMOROUS PHILOSOPHER 

T^IME is a vast, inexorable Hen, 

And each new day a nice fresh egg, 
new-laid, 
That's placed each dawn before all living 
men 
From which some new refection may be 
made; 
And each man takes his egg in his own way, 

And uses it with foolishness or wit — 
For me I fondly hope and ever pray, 
Whate'er I do I shall not scramble it. 



December Third 





ALLIES 

HPHE clouds that blur the sky 

No mortal can deny, 
And yet, for all their snare, 
The glowing sun is there. 



The world may thrill with fear, 
Bereft of joy and cheer, 
And life seem only pain- 
Yet golden hopes remain. 



A future lowering grim 
The present light may dim, 
Yet in life's turgid stream 
The sturdy soul may dream. 
December Fourth 




With Hope and Dreams and Light 
To ease the world's despite, 
And Love to aid the three — 
Who doubts the victory? 



December Fourth 



OUT OF THE MURK 

VTIGH prison walls I one time heard 
The joyous singing of a bird. 

On sordid ways by grime beset 
I've spied a smiling violet, 

And in the depths of squalor wild 
I've heard the laughter of a child. 

Are you in woe? Ah, well — for you 
There may be yet some joy that's true, 

E'en as these hints of bliss I've found 
With naught but misery around. 



December Fifth 



THE CUP 

"llTHATE'EIt man was when life began, 
* " I think I have discerned the plan 
For which he was designed when he 
First came to be: 

A sort of Chalice tried and true 
For God to pour Himself into 
That the Divine might carry on 
Thro* years anon, 

And with its inspiration draw 
The world up to the higher law 
Where selfish pride and seeking fall, 
And love is all. 



December Sixth 



AT SUNSET 

"ITl/HEN the rare grandeur of the sunset 
VV sky 

Reveals itself to my enchanted eye 
With all the golden glory of the cloud, 
And gorgeous pageantry of hue endowed, 
And through my soul the truth hath come 

to me 
That over yonder lies Eternity, 
I thrill to dream of the Eternal State 
With so much splendor lavished at the Gate. 



December Seventh 



THE WILLING WILL 

T LIKE a willing horse or man: 

I like a willing mind 
That willingly does all it can 

Its special task to find; 
But most I like that willing Will 

That in the midst of blight 
Gives battle dauntlessly to ill 

And wills its way to light. 



December Eighth 












A WAR IMPRESSION 

T Gazed upon a scene of war 

And there amid the welter sore 
The birds sang sweetly in the wood, 
And even where I stood 
Grass green as ever mortal knew 
And flowers full of beauty grew; 
And gleaming thro' the flare 
Of conflict and the glare 
At night the stars shone brightly o'er 
That scarry field of war, 
And seemed to send down smiles of love 
As token from the hosts above 
That all the sacrifice and pain 
That Valor suffered there was not in vain, 
While Mother Earth's rich arms were wide 

apart 
To clasp her weary sons close to her heart. 
December Ninth 






EARNINGS 

^HERE'S many a thing in life I lack, 
And yet I don't regret 'em, 
But put my pack 
Upon my back 
And hie me forth to get 'em. 

I've strength of arm, and will to toil, 
And eye for lurking treasure, 

And from life's moil 

I gather spoil 
According to my measure. 



December Tenth 



THE WEATHER-MAKER 

I'M sure if you could have your way 

You'd make each day a pleasant day, 
And keep the skies forever clear 
Of clouds that hide the fount of cheer. 

Well, rain or shine, in raging storm, 
A smile will make the prospects warm 
For some one that you chance to meet 
Upon the sorrow-burdened street. 

A pleasant word will bring the light 
Into a noon as dark as night, 
And any act of brotherhood 
Will make the bleakest weather good. 

So up and at it, Friend o' Mine! 
Get busy in the weather line, 
And make fine days for every one 
As Understudy of the Sun. 
December Eleventh 









A QUERY 

\7"0U'VE sat your lunch and breakfast 

through. 
Perhaps you've had your dinner, too, 
Regaling self on bread and meat 
Until your stomach is replete. 
But as you've run along your way 
What have you fed your soul to-day? 
What thing of beauty or of cheer 
Of all life's lovely menu here? 
What food of Selflessness and Love 
Have you perchance partaken of? 
I'm asking this about your food 
With no intention to be rude, 
But just to put a simple question 
To save you mental indigestion. 

December Twelfth 



,m 



A RESOLVE 

I'M just a bit o' human seed 

The Fates have planted on this earth, 
And whether I be flower or weed, 

A thing of sorrow or of worth, 
I'm goin' to get my roots in deep, 

And day by day, and night by night, 
Without cessation ever keep 

A-growin' upward toward the light. 



December Thirteenth 



THE OVERBURDENED 

T_TI there, my friend! Just pause awhile. 

Sit down and for a moment smile. 
Why try to carry all the wrack 
Of this whole world upon your back? 

There's others right beside you here 
With shoulders broad and purpose clear 
Who 're ready to take up their share 
Of our great Universe of care, 

And what they cannot carry leave 

To other shoulders to retrieve; 

And — hist! — those Souls have farthest trod 

Who've left some part of it to God. 



December Fourteenth 




A 




THE DANCE 

WITHERED leaf or two 
Came dancing into view 
Before the driving wind 
To wintry crosses blind. 

They hither danced and yon 
The frozen ways upon, 
As if their spirits free 
Were bubbling o'er with glee. 

No thought of bitterness, 
No thought of their distress, 
But, seeming full of song, 
They simply danced along. 

If they, why may not I 
When bitter storms come by 
Make sport of evil chance 
And onward gaily dance? 
December Fifteenth 







THE THIEF 

COMEHOW I always think of grief 
^ As just a sorry sort of thief 
Who robs me of my peace of mind, 
My joy, my cheer, and leaves behind 
To vex to-day and cloud to morrow 
Naught but a useless meed of sorrow 
That cannot help the thing I mourn, 
Or soothe a heart by trial torn; 
And likely graves upon my face 
A mark no years can e'er erase 
To thrust on other men the moan 
I should have guarded as mine own. 



December Sixteenth 



m 



CLEARING THE WAY 



T'LL take my share 
A Of daily care 
And smilingly its burden bear; 

Nor add a jot 
To what I've got 
By wailing o'er my woeful lot. 

For as I see 
The way things be 
Tears only fatten misery, 

While patient cheer 
Confronting fear 
The thorniest of paths will clear . 



December Seventeenth 



IN THE WOODS 

A MONG the proverbs writ of old I find 
^* a lot of chaffing, 
And if it were not overbold I'd say they 

keep me laughing. 
For instance, "When you're in the wood 

don't whistle," said the sages — 
And maybe that advice was good in those 

far-distant ages — 
But as I go my way in life through jungles 

black and scary, 
Through vales all full of lurking strife, while 

careful to be wary 
Amid the dangers dark and grim with which 

the forests bristle, 
I find to keep my nerve in trim that's just 

the time to whistle! 

December Eighteenth 



SANCTUARY 

'117'HERE are the songs of summer days, 

The joyous notes of spring? 
Where are the gladsome roundelays 
The song-birds used to sing? 

Safe, my Brother, one and all; 

Safe and secure they be, 
Hid from the winter's chilly pall 

Deep in the heart of me. 



December Nineteenth 



L w**v**m 



AS TO HEAVEN 

"I17HEN I look on brilliant skies, 

* When I breathe the keen crisp air; 
When I see the light that lies 

Round about me everywhere; 
When I taste the fruits of earth 

Toil provides for appetite; 
When I glimpse the things of worth 

Lying everywhere in sight — 

Mother-love and children's glee, 

Kindly hearts and smiling lips, 
Touch of human sympathy 

Thrilling myriad finger-tips — 
Then I wonder if indeed 

With these gifts of loving cheer, 
If we do but give them heed, 

We have not our Heaven here? 

December Twentieth 



SPACE AND TIME 

"M'OW what is Space that we should dread 

The distances before us spread? 
A million leagues plus millions more, 
The smiling stars have traveled o'er, 
To bring to us their golden dower 
Of light to ease the shadowed hour — 
There is no Space however, wide, 
Light cannot ride! 

Now what is Time that we should fear 

The passing on of year on year? 

Back in the ages past I see 

A love begun to reach to me 

From Him who gave His life and died 

That I might into Glory ride — 

There is no age since Time began 

Love cannot span! 
December Twenty-first 



STAR-LED 

Tl/HEN I recall the spirit-feast 
* * Spread for those Wise Men of the 
East, 
Star-led across the desert plain 
To Him who taught that Loss was Gain, 
In moments of my stress I gaze 
Into the Heavens' starry ways, 
And choose some star of Hope to lead 
My soul to plenty out of need. 



December Twenty-second 






MY GIFT 

rpHE Christmas Gift I'm thinking of, 

If you would make me rich, 
Is just a garment knit of Love — 
And don't you drop a stitch I 



December Twenty-third 



THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT 

YA/HOSE heart doth hold the Christmas 
* * glow 

Hath little need of Mistletoe; 
Who bears a smiling grace of mien 
Need waste no time on wreaths of green; 
Whose lips have words of comfort spread 
Needs not the holly-berries red — 
His very presence scatters wide 
The spirit of the Christmastide. 



December Twenty-fourth 




SANTA CLAUS 

"T\0 I believe in Santa Claus? Well, I 

just guess I do! 
He is no Ghost of filmy gauze, but spirit 

stanch and true. 
He's much too fine for any eye of mortal 

man to sight, 
And on this Christmas Morn speeds by 

like any flash of light. 
There's such a lot that must be done in 

all parts of the land, 
He cannot interrupt his run to shake you 

by the hand; 
But when by deeds of thoughtfulness you 

find yourself inclined 
To help another in distress he has you in 

his mind. 

December Twenty-fifth 




THE AFTERMATH 

T^O all he gave, from none received, 
But was his spirit sore or grieved? 
Not so! The glow of giving filled 
His heart, and all his being thrilled 
With so much joy, the aftermath 
Next morning glorified his path 
And gave him, as I heard him say, 
A double-barreled Christmas Day. 



December Twenty-sixth 



hJm'Ah 





NOW AND HERE 

rTOOK a little patch of earth, 

Fenced it all about with Mirth; 
Planted it with Love and Cheer; 
Weeded out all hints of Fear; 
Watered it right lavishly 
From the rills of Sympathy; 
Gave it all the loving care 
I could gather anywhere; 
And — perhaps you'll doubt the same, 
But it's true — an angel came 
Flying by one morning bright; 
Paused a moment in his flight, 
Gazed upon that garden fair, 
Swooped about, and settled there! 

December Twenty -seventh 



"For it truly seemed," said he, 
"Just like Heaven unto me, 
And I'm glad that you appear 
To have found it now, and here!" 



December Twenty-seventh 



PLEASANT THINKING 

DY thinking pleasant thoughts to-day 
I'll strew with flowers all my way, 
And maybe scatter unto others 
The seeds of joy to help my brothers; 
And when the night has come along 
Those thoughts will fill my dreams with song, 
And maybe ease some passing sorrow 
That may await me on the morrow 
By giving me the smiling start 
That comes from cheeriness of heart. 



December Twenty-eighth 



IF, BUT, AND WHY 

A LL "doubts" and little "ifs" and "buts" 
"^ To me are nothing more than nuts 
That I must crack that I may reach 
The meat of faith that lies in each. 
No harm in honest questions lies, 
And up among the great and wise 
Are those who've reached the levels high 
Through "ifs," and "buts," and asking 
"Why?" 



December Twenty-ninth 



THE REFUGE 

T/'EEP a small place deep in your heart, 

*" A refuge from the world apart, 
Whither, when care and troubles dire 
Oppress your soul, you may retire; 
And once within, when worries come 
With thoughts all black and burdensome 
To vex you with their blatant din, 
Sit tight, and just don't let 'em in! 



'j 



December Thirtieth 






11 



A PARTING GIFT 

TTPON this last day of the dying year 
^ Fling on all sides thy gifts of Love and 

Cheer 
In such abundant stores that all mankind 
A portion of thy Goodly Will shall find, 
And give thee in return some little part 
■■'■ Deep in his heart, 

For he who in the human Heart doth dwell 
Hath won a home no palaces excel, 
And hath no need to fear the fateful thing 
The dawning of the New-born Year shall 
bring. 



December Thirty-first 





















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Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
c Treatment Date: Sept. 2009 

PreservationTechnologies 

\ A WORLD t FADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
Jy (724)779-2111 





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